A crushing reminder of the grotesque potency of war

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2001)

War films, as a genre generally, offer insights into the human condition
which other movies do not. Its the threat of death and immediacy of loss
that allow stark and painful ideas to emerge. With the constancy - and
inescapable fear - of harm, driving these movies, its easy to be equally
captivated and mortified. I found Enemy At the Gates one of the most
terrifying, gut wrenching films I have seen. One almost feels a gung ho
immunity after watching other war films but this film breaks through
such defences. I felt a creepy paranoia watching scenes such as those
where soldiers are gunned down by their comrades to prevent retreat. It
illuminated too vibrantly the horror and waste of war. This is very much
a grunt movie - in the battle zone and without any outside influence bar
the haunting and equally terrifying opening. Jude Law's Vasilli Zaitsev
is a young boy in this early scene, being taught to shoot at a wolf
lured by a restrained horse left in the open as bait. The chilling
pressure of this early flashback is continued throughout the film which
then launches into the deadly battleground of Stalingrad. Its World War
2 and as the German army advance through Europe and into Russia the
likelihood of German victory seems increasingly certain as the Russian
spirits crumble in the face of superior military strength. It comes down
(in the film's narrative anyway) to a young writers' propaganda to lift
the pride of the army. Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) finds in the now grown
sniper Zaitsev the spirit of victory and uses pamphlets and newspapers
to promote the shooting prowess and hiding skills of Zaitsev. As morale
builds and Zaitsev becomes a hero to the Russian people, a rift grows
between the two men whose friendship is tested by their conflicting love
for a young female sniper, Chernova (played by Rachel Weisz). The film
is beautifully made and features a suave, cruel villain in the form of
Ed Harris' icy Major Konig. A scene towards the end reveals the
unspeakable, hideous depravity of Nazism and left me stunned.Jude Law
captures a shattering innocence that is heartbreaking while Joseph
Fiennes offers a restrained and moving vision of a man in the
background. Weisz is probably the least well served in character terms
but she does well with her limited role. Its not a rousing film but it
is instead intensely powerful and extremely unsettling. A film for the
big screen, where the loud gunfire and clouds of smoke can be truly
appreciated. A crushing reminder of the grotesque potency of war.