CONSENSUS #24. Stalingrad (1992)

 

SYNOPSIS:  "Stalingrad" is a bleak film about a German squad caught in the Russian city towards the end of the siege.

BACK-STORY:  “Stalingrad” was a major German production released in 1993.  It was directed by Joseph Vilsmaier.  It is in the German language.  I found nothing of particular interest anecdotally.

 

Belle and Blade  =  5.0

Brassey’s              =  4.0

Video Hound       =  N/A

War Movies         =  N/A

Military History  =  #23

Channel 4             =  #58

Film Site                =  no

101 War Movies  =  yes

Rotten Tomatoes  =  no

 

HISTORICAL ACCURACY: 

                The movie is fictional and does not attempt to give an overview of the battle.  It could be set in any number of urban combat scenarios.  As a depiction of the trials of a typical squad of Germans caught up in the battle, it is fairly accurate.   The weapons and equipment are authentic. 

OPINION:  “Stalingrad” is an admirable attempt to depict the battle from the perspective of a squad of the losers.  We follow them from the sunny beach in Italy to the frozen rubble of Stalingrad.  They become recognizable personalities.  The unit is heterogeneous, but not too stereotypically so.  It reminded me of “Platoon” in this respect.  However, it does have some archetypes like the cynical veteran sergeant (Rohleder), the idealist (Reiser), the naïve novice (Muller), and the ambitious officer (Witzland).  Unfortunately, the acting is pedestrian and the character development is flawed.  Rollo should have been a strong character, but he does not develop into the insubordinate anti-hero he could have been.  This was disappointing.  Perplexing is more the word for Witzland’s evolution.  He starts as a martinet, becomes an officer on the make, and then suddenly gets sensitive towards the enemy and ends up a deserting pacifist.  While unorthodox, this arc is ridiculous. 

             The small unit dynamics are realistic and the soldier talk seems true to form.  The interaction between the soldiers is not forced.  It is instructive to see that the non-S.S. soldiers behaved like soldiers from any World War II army.  Remember that not all German soldiers were Nazi fanatics.  The movie also throws in a female Soviet soldier and a boy soldier, but the roles come off as attempts to humanize the Germans because they treat these enemy well.  In reality, the Wehrmacht was not exactly sensitive toward those two types.  Plus their appearances in the narrative are too plot enhancing.  Speaking of which, the whole Bad German role was dripping with cliché.

                The plot is not smooth.  It does not integrate the big picture into the small world of the squad.  It is one thing to depict the “fog of war”, but the audience should have an idea of why things are disintegrating.  Too many incidents in the plot foreshadow future developments.  This is the kind of movie that when an enemy character suddenly is injected into the plot and then exits, you know they will be reappearing.  It was apparently a small world in Stalingrad.

                The themes are appropriate.  Vilsmaier is interested in filming the futility of war.  What better way to make this point than focus on a German squad at Stalingrad?  There’s no debating the movie is solidly anti-war.  It also tends to be anti-military.  Although Witzland and Musk are shown in a positive light, Haller (Bad German) is meant to represent the German officer corps.  The other theme is comradeship.  In this respect, the film does not break any new ground and does not compare well to movies like “Platoon”.  The interplay is average in realism.

                In conclusion, I had heard great things about this movie and I had every reason to believe I would enjoy it.  It appeared on the surface to be my kind of war movie.  Plus I am fascinated by the Battle of Stalingrad and have read books on the subject.  I was shocked at how disappointing the movie was.  It is very overrated.  Sources that I trust rate it as a great war movie.  They are wrong!  It is not even the best movie about Stalingrad.  That would be “Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Die?”