Enemy at the Gates*** out of **** March 19, 2001 BY ADAM KEMPENAAR Enemy at the Gates is a rare breed of war movie. It isn't about patriotism or courage or the camaraderie among men who wake up knowing that each day might be their last, like most American war flicks. To be sure, all of these elements are on display throughout Jean-Jacques Annaud's epic tale about the battle of Stalingrad, but when stripped down to its core, the plot is simply a tense cat-and-mouse-game between two distinct and compelling adversaries. Based on a "true" story, Enemy at the Gates recounts the duel between a young Russian sniper named Vassily Zaitsev (Jude Law) and the Nazi hero sent to kill him, Maj. Koenig (Ed Harris). According to Reel.com, the character of Koenig is based on SS Col. Heinz Thorwald, but evidence also suggests that the entire duel might have been fabricated by the Soviets to boost morale. The reasons for the Red Army's low morale are obvious from the outset. It's late fall 1942, and Stalingrad is in ruins. The German soldiers are better-trained and better-equipped, with seemingly countless tanks and planes to support them. Meanwhile, the Russians aren't just facing the fury of the Nazis. If they retreat from battle, or try to jump from a ship that is being strafed with bullets, as in the film's harrowing opening scene, their own commanders open fire on them. Talk about motivation. Morale improves a bit thanks to an ambitious, intellectual political officer named Danilov (Shakespeare in Love's Joseph Fiennes). After witnessing Vassily's heroics first-hand, Danilov uses the Soviet propaganda machine to make him into a hero -- a peasant boy from the Urals who is single-handedly defeating the Nazis with his deadly aim. This is, of course, what attracts the attention of the Germans and Koenig. Danilov and Vassily become good friends, until a love triangle develops among them and a beautiful, educated soldier named Tania (Rachel Weisz). When Danilov finally discovers that Tania and Vassily are in love, his jealousy leads him to betray his friend. Danilov's Judas-like behavior is not only unnecessary to the plot, it also detracts from the most intriguing aspect of the movie, which is the fox-hunt between Vassily and Koenig. In fact, the entire love story seems tacked on, as though Annaud was trying too hard to appeal to the women in the audience who might be discomforted by such a bleak, and often bloody, war movie. To Annaud's credit, he does deliver one of the best on-screen sex scenes in recent memory, when Tania and Vassily covertly consummate their relationship lying in a bunker surrounded by sleeping soldiers. Under the circumstances, they not only have to remain almost perfectly still, but they cannot make any noise either. The result is an awkwardly erotic but tender exchange between two young lovers. And this scene is matched perfectly by the preceding sequence in which Vassily unknowingly seduces Tania by explaining why all of the soldiers celebrate each night when they return to the bunker -- because they know they are lucky to be alive, which makes each cup of tea and each cigarette worth rejoicing. Forget "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may"; if the knowledge that a Nazi sniper will probably end your life tomorrow doesn't force you to speed up your courtship, then nothing will. Enemy at the Gates also benefits from a superb cast, especially Harris as the steely eyed German marksman. And while all of the dirt and blood in Stalingrad couldn't make Law seem unattractive, he successfully sheds the over-confident playboy image he displayed in The Talented Mr. Ripley. As Vassily, Law plays a hero who is as courageous as he is naive and as charismatic as he is humble. Ultimately, the film fails only when it loses its focus roughly halfway through, shifting from these two characters to the sappy love story. All might be fair in love and war, but Enemy at the Gates proves that the two shouldn't necessarily go together. Agree? Disagree? E-mail CinemaScoped at: cinemascoped@sbcglobal.net |
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