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The most expensive European film ever made (reportedly $95 million) kicks off with a 20-minute battle scene in which Russia's Red Army unsuccessfully tries to drive Hitler's troops out of 1942 Stalingrad. If Enemy at the Gates had been released, oh, say, two and a half years ago, this opening would have been downright shocking, but in our post-Saving Private Ryan world, it feels blasé. Is it horrifying? You bet, but it still pales in comparison to Ryan's graphic icebreaker. We see the Volga River strewn with debris that includes arms and legs, and a little Braveheart is thrown in for good measure when the Russians charge toward their demise. Of course, Ryan and Braveheart weren't saddled with James Horner's unnecessary heavy-handed score, either.
Set against the backdrop of the Battle of Stalingrad, Enemy is about a young sniper from the Ural Mountains named Vassily Zaitsev (Jude Law, The Talented Mr. Ripley), who, as we learn from the film's prelude, was educated in marksmanship by his grandfather. After the Germans wipe out most of the Red Army in Enemy's opening scene, Vassily and a Russian political officer named Danilov (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare in Love) meet while hiding out in a pile of dead bodies. One has a rifle, and one has five rounds of ammunition, but before you can say "Texas Book Depository," Vassily has scored five nice head shots on a group of nearby German officers.
The incident propels Vassily to hero status in Russia, thanks mostly to Danilov's cunning in the production and distribution of a Russian war newspaper that sings the praises of the Russian Davy Crockett (he killed him a wolf when he was only five, as the legend goes). Vassily's story invigorates his homeland, which then proceeds to dig in their heels and push the Germans out of their country in what became one of the key turning points of World War II. Danilov is Colonel Tom to Vassily's Elvis, making him a larger-than-life figure, a national hero and a real thorn in Hitler's side.
But the bulk of Enemy is comprised of a cat-and-mouse game between Vassily and a German sniper named Koenig (Ed Harris, Pollock), who was brought in to Stalingrad to eliminate his Russian counterpart. It might sound exciting, but a 15-minute set piece about two snipers can get pretty tiring. You could easily be on the edge of your seat for the first five minutes, lose interest, and then fall asleep for the last five. There's a lot of lying around and remaining very still. It takes a special director to pull this off, and I'm not sure Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet) is the right guy. This is a typical David vs. Goliath battle that plays like the Wachowski brothers' Assassins meets The Bad News Bears (with Sunshine's Rachel Weisz playing the Tatum O'Neal role).
Weisz plays Tania, an educated Russian Jew who volunteered to fight the Germans after they killed her parents. Because she knows German, Danilov wants Tania to stay behind the scenes with him to interpret intercepted messages, while Vassily prefers she focus her rage on physical battles. The men end up playing tug-of-war with Tania's skills and heart, which puts them at odds with each other. She prefers Vassily (the two share an extremely laughable but really hot sex scene - it was so Vas-silly), so Danilov is faced with the option of selling out his comrade for the chance to hit that thang. This all could have been left out to help Enemy's pacing.
In addition to putting American audiences in the unlikely position of rooting for the Krushchev-led Russians, Enemy takes the unfortunate route of having each character speak with a British accent (even the ones who actually sound German). It's a regrettable copout made by too many films (except Traffic). Harris, who logs a very nice performance here, goes in and out of a clipped German accent like he's got a split personality. On the more positive side of things are the lovely costumes (from likely Oscar winner Janty Yates, Gladiator), the beautifully dark photography (Robert Fraisse) and really terrific sets, which are mostly comprised of the inside and outside of crumbling buildings.
Besides Harris' turn as the steely Koenig, Bob Hoskins (Felicia's Journey) does extremely well playing Nikita Krushchev, although he's only on the screen for all of two minutes. Law, Fiennes and Weisz are all capable but do nothing too spectacular with their roles.
2:11 - R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality
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