TALVISOTA (5) vs. STALINGRAD: DOGS… (12)

 

PLOT     

                “Talvisota” is a Finnish war movie set in the Winter War versus the Soviets.  It was released in 1989.  It was based on a novel.  An infantry regiment is called up at the beginning of the war and we follow a group of men through the fighting.  They are sent to the front to occupy trenches and hold back overwhelming Soviet hordes equipped with tanks.  It’s a whittle down plot as few of the main characters will survive.  It has a WWI film feel as a lot of time is spent in trenches.  And there are trips to the home front.  There are several battles that are well-done.  Unfortunately, the plot is without nuance.  There is no dysfunction and the characters are two-dimensional.   GRADE  =  C (7)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?” is a West German film released in 1959.  It was based on a novel by a survivor of the Battle of Stalingrad.  The main character is a German Lt. Wisse who is sent as a liaison to the Romanian allies.  His adversary will be an officious, but self-serving Maj. Linkmann.  Wisse and his core group of mates will have to try to survive the hardships of the siege.  The movie was dedicated to the survivors and does justice to them.  It covers both the macro and the micro.  Narration gives the big picture and Hitler and Paulus make appearances to balance the portrayal of the average German soldier.  While not a documentary, it is the best edutainment on the battle.  GRADE  =  A (9)

ACTING

                Taneli Makela (Martti) won Best Actor at the Jussi Awards and Vesa Vierikko (Jussi) won Best Supporting Actor.  The rest of the cast is fine and no one stands out.  They are not really given the chance to shine because there is no dysfunction in the platoon.  Even the officers, with one villainous exception, are nice guys.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

                The acting is a real strength in “Stalingrad…”.  Preiss (who played Rommel in “The Longest Day”) is his usual solid self and adds some gravitas as the only recognizable actor for an American audience.  Did he make any non-war movies?  The rest of the cast is good, especially Hansen (Wisse).  It was a nice touch to have Paulus and Hitler portrayed by actors.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

CLICHES

                “Talvisota” starts off with the naïve recruits going off to war ill-prepared, but at least they are not enthusiastic about it.  There is one asshole officer who has it in for the main character, but otherwise the unit lacks dysfunction.  It is firmly in the “who will survive?” subgenre.  The trips to the home front prove that the citizens are clueless.  Overall, the movie manages to avoid most cliches.  GRADE  =  B (8)

                “Stalingrad: Dogs…” starts with the naïve, kool-aid drinking officer arriving at the front.  His arc is predictable, though realistic for many officers sent to Stalingrad.  He and his three mates are too small a group to make this a small unit movie.  There is no dysfunction as all are fighting for survival.  There is a clicheish relationship between Wisse and Linkmann -  the good officer versus the bad officer.  Given the unusual plot, the movie does not lend itself to tropes.  GRADE  =  B (8)

COMBAT

                The strength of “Talvisota” is in its combat.  It has both quantity and quality.  The bombardments are well-done, if unrealistically accurate at times.  The effects coordinator loved to blow up trees.  There is some visceral and graphic hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches of the modern “Saving Private Ryan” style. Unfortunately, it is marred by being too stagey in its choreography.  The vehicles and weaponry are either original or excellent replicas.  The producers got hold of some authentic Soviet T-26 tanks.  GRADE  =  B (8)

                “Stalingrad: Dogs…” almost did not make the tournament because of its lack of combat, but a siege is combat too.  It is excellent at showing the terrible conditions the German soldiers were subjected to.  The one combat scene is realistic.  A tank is taken out by an anti-tank gun.  GRADE  =  C  (8)

FINAL SCORE:  SDDYWTL  32  Talvisota  31

ANALYSIS

                “Talvisota” is a well-known and well-regarded movie, but I find it overrated.  “Stalingrad: Dogs…” is little-known, but possibly the best of many movies about the Battle of Stalingrad.  Judged just on quantity of combat, “Talvisota” has the edge, but overall as a war film, it is clearly not as good.  The plot is what separates the two. Both were meant as tributes to countrymen who defied incredible odds, but the plight of the German soldiers was more realistically depicted.