A lot of years have passed since the release of this movie, and I just got to see it not knowing I was missing out on one of the best sniper movies. And you see this film; it's one I can rewatch because it made me understand that fighting a war goes beyond armies just fighting each other. Sometimes, it turns into battles between two people, and in this movie, it was a Russian sniper against a German sniper when the Stalingrad battle was going on: the director is Jean Jacques.
It's an English-speaking movie and very easy to watch. One of the reasons why It was a good watch is because the storyline was based on a true life story.
The film covered Vasily Zaitsev, one of the youngest soldiers who had extraordinary shooting skills that turned him into a Soviet propaganda hero. Even though Vasily was only trying to survive the war, what I admired about the young man was that fame seemed to be something he never wanted. But all of a sudden, he was expected to be this symbol of hope by the Soviet side. And this alone put another extra load on him.
Although, I don't want to say too much or give spoilers about the movie. But from what I've said so far, you should have grasped a bit of where the whole movie is heading, giving what was expected from the first character I mentioned. Because as Vasily, he has been given the pressure he doesn't ask for, but his skills do, and he was needed.
The movie is a historical movie, and I never got to know about the battle until after watching this movie. The characters like Major Erwin, who was the German sniper from the German side that was sent after Vasily to hunt him. I like what the screenwriter did with him because he doesn't need to shout before he becomes frightening; this patience and full understanding of what a sniper should be made him one. And when they eventually met, their fighting to me looked strategic, yet it was a common fight like two hunters hunting eachother.
The movie also explores Joseph Danilov. He explored his creativity by demonstrating how propaganda can turn a human being into an idea in a way that he got to know what Vasily was capable of doing, so he used his victories to encourage all the Soviet soldiers by restoring their hope. But along the way, I saw how his jealousy turned out to be something that destroyed their relationship.
I like the excellent cinematography of all the places that the war took place and the captivating experience it all gave even in darkness despite it being acted a while ago. All the shooting helicopter effects, that land war. It all gave a real-life effect to make the whole experience more lasting. All I saw here, I probably have seen it in most movies, but the twist came in Rachel was more than just the woman that was caught between the two men; even the war was ongoing.
At this time, the movie also concentrated on Sacha and Koulikov, and to me, Sacha's story became something I'll call a sad one. And on both sides, he became very useful all because he was also trying to survive the destroyed city. He was a child who became trapped in a war and found himself making the decision of an adult.
All the atmosphere used in this movie was something I'll call powerful, and the other general, Annaud, gave the whole movie a lot of tension in a way that he was waiting for others to make mistakes. But I might not really give it more criticism because it was based on a true life story, and Hollywood probably might have added there's. And I loved this movie because I liked the way the whole battle scene was done, which made it lonely in a way that one soldier needs to hide from the other always, and any mistake to reveal himself leads to death. It makes the whole experience while watching a memorable one. Though I won't consider it a perfect historical film, everything was gripping, acted well, and was worth watching as a character drama and war thriller.
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Rating: 80/100
