An exercise in the brutality within the bloody ruins of Stalingrad, Enemy at the Gates is a taut and highly atmospheric game of cat and mouse between Major König and legendary sniper, Vasily Zaitsev. Gripping from the get-go with its barbaric depiction of its opposing armies coming to blows, with not one step back, Director Jean-Jacques Annaud delivers a film that simultaneously has you squirming in your seat and right on the edge. The handheld and sweeping camera motions only help to heighten the sense of fear and scale Stalingrad itself possess, with James Horner's hauntingly unnerving and beautiful score to compliment it. All this with the addition of a great cast consisting of Jude Law, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins and a criminally underused Ron Perlman, Enemy at the Gates is a top-notch depiction of sniper warfare and the power of propaganda. You just have to forgive a few historical inaccuracies, British-speaking Soviets, American-speaking Nazis and the pointless addition of a Hollywood love triangle that really drag the picture down.
Review of Enemy at the Gates
