ENEMY AT THE GATES

UK/France/Germany, 2001, 129 minutes, Colour.
Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, Ron Perlman.
Directed by Jean Jacques Annaud.

The battle for Stalingrad. The film opens with about twenty minutes of intense battle, rivalling the opening of Saving Private Ryan's recreation of the Normandy landing. This time it is young, raw Russian troops fleeing the onslaught of the Germans, their officers urging them on and shooting them when they run away. It is dangerous pandemonium with one rifle between two men.

The film then focuses on Vassily, a crack shot from the Urals, who saves a propaganda officer and destroys a German squad. Khrushchev is in charge at Stalingrad and wants to get rid of the commanders until he is persuaded that Vassily is a hero and that promoting him will restore morale. It does. So much so that the Germans send their own skilled sniper. It becomes a cat and mouse war between them while the city tries to survive German attacks.

Jean Jacques Annaud has made a spectacular war film that enables audiences to appreciate World War II on the Russian front. By concentrating on the snipers, he focuses the war on a battle that the audience can understand. There is also a romantic sub-plot. The main cast is British, with Jude Law as Vassily, Joseph Fiennes as the propaganda officer, Rachel Weisz as a guerrilla fighter and Bob Hoskins as Khrushchev. Ed Harris is the German sniper.

While not as great in scope as Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line, it is nevertheless a powerful recreation of events of sixty years ago.

1. A World War II epic at the beginning of the 21st century. Sixty years in retrospect? The memories of the Russians and the change in the Soviet Empire? The change in the Germans? Memories of the Nazis? The battle of Stalingrad? The relevance of remembering the war at the beginning of the millennium?

2. The settings: the opening and the snowbound Urals? The transition to the train, Stalingrad under siege, the graphic depiction of the battles, the docks, the Nazi headquarters, the Russian headquarters? The sniping in the city? The confined locations, the tractor factory? The colour grading and the grimness of the colour? The widescreen panorama of battle as well as the intimacy of the story of two snipers against each other? Sets, decor, costumes? The musical score and its atmosphere? The choral background suggesting the Russian tradition?

3. The title, the explanation about the strategic importance of Stalingrad? The Volga, the oilfields of the East? The Nazis having overcome Europe by the end of 1942?

4. The symbolic opening: the young boy with his gun, being a rock, silent, snow to conceal his breath? His grandfather, absent father (the war)? The stalking of the wolf, the tethering of the horse? The later dream and the reality of the horse being taken by the wolf? The grandfather's reaction? Vassily and his being sorry? The aftermath and his being steady as a sniper?

5. The overall sweep of the Red Army young men arriving in Stalingrad, the urging of the leaders, the reading of the letters on the boat, the air attacks and the bombings? The Russian officer shooting the deserters in the water? The massacres? One rifle between two men, the other following with bullets? The final defeat and the holding of the city against the Germans despite everything? The populus and their trying to escape - and Stalin not wanting them to leave?

6. The context of Stalin and the initial friendship with Hitler? Hitler turning against Stalin, fascism against communism? The attack on Russia and its personal nature from Hitler? The portraits of Stalin, his prevailing presence? The presence of Khrushchev, his down-to-earth language, ruthlessness, the general killing himself? Morale-boosting, the importance of Danilov and morale-boosting? Khrushchev and his patience? The glimpse of the future successor to Stalin?

7. The focus on Vassily, on the train, his seeing Tanya? Watching the people, involved in the attack, the camera focusing on him and the audience understanding the siege of Stalingrad through his actions? Following, wanting a rival, crouching and running, on the boat? His shooting? Survival? Danilov and the car, the propaganda pages, the bombing, the overturning of the car? Danilov hiding, encountering Vassily? The Germans, the officer taking a shower? Vassily and his ability to pick off each of the Germans? Khrushchev and his reaction to the action of the men? The talk to the officers, Commissar Danilov and his positive morale-boosting? The story of Vassily, the papers, the spreading of the story throughout Russia? The need for propaganda, the Soviet hero, the farmer from the Urals and his success? The celebrity status and the reaction of the Russian people? The letters, Vassily answering them with Danilov dictating?

8. The Filipov family, the mother and her kindliness, Sascha and his age, admiration for Vassily, welcoming him into their home? The encounter with Tanya? The attraction of each man to her? Her role in the district, fighting? Danilov wanting her to go to headquarters to translate, her university background? Sascha and his working for the Germans, feeding them false information, feeding back the information about the snipers and German action? Sascha and his age, innocence, shrewdness? His handling of the German and being credible? His admiration for Vassily? The information about the sulphur on the shoes? The German realising what was happening, feeding Sascha the information, warning him not to come back? Sascha's return, the German and his regrets - yet hanging him? The visual imagery of Sascha hanging? The final confrontation with that as background? The irony of Danilov and Tanya telling his mother to escape, explaining that he'd gone over to the Germans, concealing the truth so that she would hope that he would live?

9. Danilov and his cerebral idealism, the commissar, patriotism? Loyalty to Stalin and Khrushchev? His friendship with Vassily, the warmth of the friendship and its effect on Danilov? The attraction towards Tanya? His realisation that she loved Vassily? Defending Vassily, finally getting Angry with him, using propaganda stories against him? His change of heart, the shock of Sascha's death? His decision to sacrifice himself to indicate where the sniper was? His death?

10. Vassily, his skills, with Ludmilla and the bomb attack, her death? The German sniper and his skills, the confrontation between the two? The help of the German expert, rough and ready, his story of being tortured after returning from Germany and being there on Stalin's orders? The killing of the officers, taking their dog tags, the propaganda use? The cable repairmen? The irony of the capture of the Russian, the Germans making him go in uniform, his being killed? The adviser taking the wrong impression from the Germans not acting - and his being shot to death as he left? The impact on Vassily?

11. The continued action, the hiding, the sniping? His going to sleep and missing the opportunity to kill the German? His regrets, his being reported as dead, the Germans using him as propaganda? His reappearance - with Tanya helping?

12. The plan to shoot the German sniper? Sascha and his information where Vassily would appear? Going through the pipes? The companion shot and returning? Vassily trapped without his rifle, the glass serving as a mirror? Tanya coming, his strategy of shining the glass in the German's eye, shooting and wounding him in the hand?

13. The collapse of Stalingrad, the people leaving, Tanya and Danilov helping Sascha's mother with the pass, Tanya being shot, the mother getting her onto the boat?

14. The final confrontation, the shooting of Danilov? Vassily waiting for the German to emerge, the confrontation, the resignation in the German, his death?

15. The character of the German, being called to help in Stalingrad, the myths about Vassily, his own skills and talent, his relationship with the German commander, his waiting, the sniping, the killing of Ludmilla, trapping Vassily near the pipes, his being deflected by the mirror, his knowing that Vassily was not dead, giving up his dog tags, the information about his son's death? The final confrontation and his death?

16. The graphic picture of war, the survival of Stalingrad, the retreat of the Germans? Vassily and his searching for Tanya, her recovery in the hospital, the suggestion of their being together and the camera drawing away?

17. The impact of the film as a war film, overview, the focus on a particular struggle as a microcosm of the war?