"Enemy at the Gates" -- Ambitious Scope, Fuzzy Focus by Homer Yen (c) 2001
Originally, this film about a legendary showdown between two snipers during a pivotal WWII event was going to be released in the late 2000 movie season, with the hope that it would capture the attention of Oscar voters. Luckily, the studio decided to nix that idea. It would have been bombed had it gone up against such late-year gems as "Thirteen Days" or "Crouching Tiger." However, against the current dearth of good films, "Enemy at the Gates" may emerge with only a flesh wound.
That's not to say that this is a good film. It's quite mediocre and frequently dull. The only 'award' that this film deserves is the 'most awkward and laughable sex scene.' In a bunker while resting between battles, our hero and heroine share a romantic moment. But they're covered with grime while dozens of snoring soldiers lie next to them like sardines. Who wants to watch that?
Set during 1941, the brutal Nazi juggernaut was swiftly advancing towards Moscow. A key offensive in the city of Stalingrad would help to determine the fate of this country. Morale among the Russian troops was waning. To reinvigorate their forces, propaganda officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) thinks that writing about Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) would provide that needed boost. He's someone with whom most Russians could relate. He comes from a poor family, lived his young life as a shepherd boy, and loves his motherland. Moreover, he's a gifted marksman. Danilov's stories resonate among the soldiers while Zaitsev continues to record more and more kills.
The Nazi's take notice and send Major Konig (Ed Harris), a decorated sharpshooter, to track down and kill Zaitsev. Our hero is earnest, humble, and struggles with his daily survival. Meanwhile, Konig is a cunning tactician. This encounter should be one of the most suspenseful components of the film. But there's little interaction between the two, diffusing much of the tension. Instead of hunting each other down, they prefer to hide and await a clear shot. There is only one exciting sequence where they square off in a factory. But most of the time, it's either Zaitsev or Konig looking for each other through the scopes of their guns amidst grim battlefields of fallen warriors or the bombed out remnants of war-torn buildings. Konig is sadly underdeveloped, and the role is essentially wasted on the gifted Harris (who is a Best Actor contender at this year's Oscars). This chess match promised more than it could deliver.
More interesting was that Zaitsev was not just waging a military battle but a personal one as well. He is ill-equipped to handle the weight of his expectations. Meanwhile, with Konig looking for him, he jeopardizes the lives of his comrades. Some, including another sniper that tries to set a trap for Konig and a very young boy who gets to know both snipers, are memorable. They both want to help but can't fully appreciate the looming dangers. However, his romantic interest for a fellow female soldier (Rachel Weisz) was distracting at best.
Unfortunately, it's a film that's epic in thought but somewhat ignoble in deed. The battle sequences were somewhat murky and confusing, the romantic subplot was needless, and the cat-and-mouse chase between the two snipers lacked zip. War, sometimes, is truly Hell.
Grade: C S: 2 out of 3 L: 1 out of 3 V: 3 out of 3
Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews