Stalingrad Review

Stalingrad DVD Movie Review

Movies Guide main page

From the producers of Das Boot comes another film which gives us a German perspective on World War II. This time, however, the setting isn’t a confined submarine, but rather the vast frozen plains of Russia.

Stalingrad follows the exploits of the soldiers of Storm Trooper’s Battalion 336, 2nd Company, 1st Platoon, as they are shipped out to fight on the Russian Front.  Before they even arrive in Russia, we get a pretty good idea of what to expect from these characters thanks to a few well-constructed scenes of ordinary military life.

Lt. Hans von Witzland (Thomas Kretschmann), an ambitious young officer, is driven by a sense of honor and responsibility.  Sgt. Manfred “Rollo” Rohleder (Jochen Nickel) is sullen and insubordinate, even having a medal revoked because he refuses to button his collar at the awards ceremony. And Fritz Reiser (Dominique Horwitz) is a compassionate soldier who looks out for his friends regardless of the personal cost.

The movie wastes no time in getting our heroes to Stalingrad, and the rest of the film details the horrors which they encounter there.  From grueling close quarters combat to attempts at escaping Russia altogether, these men are torn between their responsibility to their fellow soldiers and a desire to escape the madness of an unwinnable campaign.

This film represents a solid effort from director Joseph Vilsmaler. He succeeds in making Russia seem both expansive and dangerously claustrophobic at the same time, and the film pulls no punches when it comes to the brutality of war.  The soldiers on both sides look appropriately miserable, and the battle scenes are to-the-point and well choreographed.

And then there’s the Russian landscape.  Almost like a living entity, it threatens to sweep up friend and foe alike and crush them in its cold embrace. From the bombed out rubble of Stalingrad to the frozen plains of the countryside, everything is cold, confusing, and white.

This confusion also extends to the scenes of combat.  Bombs explode everywhere, soldiers accidentally shoot their own men, and white camouflage makes it hard to distinguish between Russian and German.

This sense of chaos is echoed over and over throughout the film, as almost everyone eventually becomes disillusioned or broken.  What begins as a glorious opportunity to crush the Russians becomes a military blunder of epic proportions.  And all the while our protagonists struggle on, caught up in events far beyond their control.

This is summed up nicely by a soldier who relates a story of how he went home on leave only to find that his wife and children were strangers to him. The more compassionate his wife behaved, the more he hated her for it. He reveals that he now views Stalingrad as home, and that he will never leave. Later, he utters the memorable line, “It’s nice to spend some time dying together.”

Well-executed scenes abound in this film.  Take, for example, a moment where both sides call a truce to collect the wounded.  As a small group of Russians and Germans meet on the battle-torn street, they regard each other with a mixture of curiosity and contempt.  Of course, this moment of quiet contemplation doesn’t last for long, as shots soon ring out and the fighting resumes.

And as time moves on, it becomes far less about winning the battle and more about simple survival.  During a particularly brutal battle against advancing tanks, a German soldier risks his life in order to loot the body of a fallen Russian.  His reason?  To find a pair of boots that fit. It’s moments like this that really drive home a sense of desperation.

There aren’t many heroes or villains in Stalingrad.  Mostly, it’s just a collection of soldiers who are trying to do their duty.  A cruel German Captain is thrown in to menace the main characters from time to time, but everyone else is pretty ambiguous.  This works out for the best, as trying to distinguish who was right and who was wrong would take away from the films decidedly anti-war tone.

While I did care about the characters, I also couldn’t help but feel a bit detached from them. Stalingrad is a fine movie, but it lacks the impact of a Platoon or a Saving Private Ryan. The ambiguous nature of the characters serves to advance the film’s message, but it also lessens the emotional impact of several key character-driven scenes.

If you’re looking for a war movie that’s trying to say something, then I would certainly recommend this film.  American audiences may especially be surprised to see a World War II film which doesn’t vilify the Germans or focus on the horrors of the Holocaust. However, if you’re wanting a film which features prolonged scenes of glorious combat, then I would suggest that you look elsewhere.  There’s no glory to be found in Stalingrad.

Grade: B-

If you like this film, you might also enjoy:

• Das Boot
• Cross of Iron
• All Quiet on the Western Front

Be sure to also read our review of Flags of Our Fathers.

DVD Movie Reviews

Worst Movie Posters

Cheesy Action Movie Posters

Movie Forums

Stalingrad with Thomas Kretschmann

Site Map