Very European film

Rating: Null/10 (5 April 1999)

The movie is a very realistically filmed account of four German soldiers in a Pioneer unit. Watching the film, with its well researched uniforms and equipment, well laid out sets, convincing dialogue, and (in the subtitled version) use of the German language, one can almost believe they are watching the real thing.
Minor uniform quiffs aside (the summer uniforms are obvious East German standins, the helmets don't have the proper rivets), there are a few cliches thrown in. The evil officer (who by his uniform is not in the same unit as the main characters, yet shows up again and again, stretching credulity) is just one example. The gratuitous addition of the woman in the closing scenes is another (was she really necessary to the plot and/or representative of German experiences in Stalingrad?)
The combat scenes, however, are properly terrifying, and the characters act believably. They are human and likable despite the uniform they wear. Perhaps that is the real accomplishment of this film. A couple of "war movie cliches" shouldn't mar anyone's enjoyment of a powerful movie that teaches how universal suffering is.