Review of Enemy at the Gates (2001) by Jens T — 26 Jun 2012

Jean-Jacques Annaud is actually one of the few directors who is able to give us a great film experience, with movies set in a foreign country without making it weird that all the characters speaks English, because all the emotions are there, and they don't follow the same Hollywood dramaturgy which would have made it corny. And he certainly did a good job on Enemy at the Gates a great anti-war film.

The film is set in 1942 in Stalingrad where the bloodiest battle of all human history is fought, and the Russians have lost their heads and moral is down. The only thing that gives the Soviet soldiers the spirit to fight is throw hero's, and in this case the professional sharp shooter, Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) who is backed up by the commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) who runs the press who idolize Vassili. The germans also know about him, so they have decides to hire the professional german sharp shooter Major Erwin König (Ed Harris) who wants to track Vassili down no matter what methods.

I really liked this film, it's action scenes are absolutely fabulous, and we get a real insight into the sniper profession with all their special tactics and movement. But what I even love more is the wide emotional specters of all the characters, and that the fact that everybody is human, and specially that Ed Harris' character is just another soldier doing his job. Thumbs up.