THE 100 BEST WAR MOVIES: 16. Brest Fortress (2010)

 

                “The Brest Fortress” (“Fortress of War”) is a Russian film about the famous defense of Brest Fortress in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa in WWII.  It was directed by Alexander Kott and had strong input from the Brest Fortress Museum.  The film chronicles the defense of four separate strongholds within the fortress.  The movie was made “in memory of the fortress heroes”.

                The movie is told in flashback form based on the memories of a then teenage boy named Sasha (Alexey Kaposhov).  Sasha and his older brother are orphans who are in the Soviet Army and stationed at the fortress.  Besides the fortresses defenders, their families live within the walls.  Life is normal until the German invasion of the Soviet Union takes the fortress completely by surprise.  The first inkling that they are at war is when a savage air bombardment pummels the fortress.  Several buildings are blown up as people run around like chickens with their heads cut off.  Soon after, the German army arrives.   When the civilians attempt to flee, they are machine gunned.  The siege has begun and it will not be the cake walk the Germans anticipated.

                The movie concentrates on the defense of the four strongpoints and the commanders of each.  Political commissar Fomin (Pavel Derevyanko) is in charge of the Kholm Gate.  Regimental commander Gavrilov (Alexander Korshuvov) commands at the Eastern Fort and defense of the 9^th Frontier Outpost falls to Lt. Kizhavatov (Andrey Merzlikin).  Another force holds out in a barracks.   The Germans assault all four positions, leading to some intense combat.  The Germans use tanks, artillery, and flamethrowers to try to whittle down the defenders.  Through all this Sasha moves through the maelstrom seeking his girlfriend Anya and taking part in the fighting.  He serves as the framing device as he connects the isolated forces. 

 

ACTING:   A                

ACTION:   A+ (9/10) the only combat is the village assault

ACCURACY:     

PLOT:  A                

REALISM:   A

CINEMATOGRAPHY:   A+

SCORE:   A

SCENE:  the German infantry and tank attack across the field

                I was not familiar with the Defense of Brest Fortress so the movie was not only entertaining, but educational.  I suppose every country its famous ill-fated siege.  Brest Fortress is the Russian equivalent of the Alamo.  Sieges are grist for war movies because of the potential for cinematic drama.  “Brest Fortress” maximizes this by tapping in to the personal elements of the story.  Not only is there the romance between Sasha and Anya, but there is another couple that is tragically impacted by the German assault.  The fact that families were caught in the siege adds a dimension that you don’t get in movies like “The Alamo”.  There is a strong human dimension to the film. Two themes are the brotherhood of the soldiers and their dying for what their country.

 The decision to concentrates on the leaders of the strongpoints was wise.  Each of these characters is distinctive and compelling.  The key to the movie is the Sasha character.  His arc is the glue tying together the various battle sites.  His quest to find his girl friend in the midst of the turmoil brings the audience into the story.  It helps that the acting is solid.  There is no scene chewing.  The dialogue is natural.  This is not a propaganda film.  The Germans are evil, but it is their actions, not the soldiers themselves.  There are no significant German characters in the film to speak of.

                Although the movie does a great job personalizing the siege, the movie is most memorable for its quantity and quality of combat.  The opening air bombardment is the best I have seen.  The first firefight sets the stage with slo-mo, graphic wounds, hand-to-hand, and extreme action.    It reminded me of the Korean style of movies like “Tae Guk Gi”, but it is also similar to the Russian film ”9^th  Company”.  There are several frenetic action scenes.  Unlike many war movies, the deaths are not ridiculously unrealistic.  And if you like explosions, this movie blows things up real good.  There is even a two ton kilogram bomb that results in a humongous explosion.  The German use of flamethrowers is not for the squeamish. 

                SPOILER ALERT:  The movie does a great job of retelling the Defense of the Brest Fortress.  This was the first encounter between the Soviets and the German invaders in Operation Barbarossa.  The movie clearly depicts the shameful lack of warning the Soviet defenders got when Stalin had knowledge that the invasion was coming.  The fortress had a garrison of 9,000 men and 300 families.  The air bombardment was devastating and was followed immediately by assault from 20,000 Germans.  The defenders were isolated into the four positions shown in the film.

NON-ENGLISH COMBAT FILM SEMI-FINALS

Well, we’re down to the final 4 and they are all great war movies.  Two are modern and the other two are black and white classics.  Two are German and the others are from Finland and Russia.  I don’t think I would have predicted all four would make it this far, but I don’t consider any of them to be a surprise.  One matchup is between the #2 and #3 seeds, but the other has two not so highly rated movies.  Any would be a worthy winner, so let’s see who will come out on top.

Fortress of War (8) vs.  Stalingrad:  Dogs Do You Want to Live Forever  (12)

The Bridge  (2)  vs.  Unknown Soldier  (3)

Any thoughts on which one should win the tournament?    

Here are the categories:

EFFECTS

STRATEGY AND TACTICS

DIALOGUE

AMOUNT OF COMBAT

Brest Fortress (8) vs.  Stalingrad:  Dogs Do You Want to Live Forever?  (12)

EFFECTS: 

                “Brest Fortress” has outstanding effects.  The artillery bombardment is one of the best of any war movie.  These are not the cheap gas explosions you see in a lot of war movies.  The results of the bomb explosions and the bullets hitting is top notch.  Buildings really catch hell in this movie.  The combat is graphic with realistic wounds.  Whoever was in charge of dead bodies did a bang-up job.    The sound effects sync up with the battles to provide an assault on the senses that almost puts you on the receiving end.  The film does have some CGI aircraft that are just average, but at least not laughable.  The Stuka bombing scene is cool.  There is also a titanic explosion from a two-ton bomb.  GRADE  =  A  (9)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” was made before CGI and modern special effects.  It uses real footage seamlessly.  Western audiences got to see “Stalin’s Organs” in their dreadful glory.  The bomb effects are above average.  Stalingrad is authentically rubbleized.  It is not a movie that relies on effects.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

DIALOGUE:

                There is nothing special about the dialogue in “Fortress of War”, but it is not hammily propagandistic like most Soviet films before the Thaw.  No one gives a speech, although the situations lend themselves to soap boxes.  No one gives a death monologue.  There are few memorable lines.  One soldier describes war as “ordinary and terrible.”  The movie has narration by Sashka as an old man.  It’s effective in setting the tone.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” is terse in its dialogue.  There’s no speechifying.  The men are appropriately laconic for well-disciplined soldiers who are facing death.  The grumbling seems right for men trapped in Stalingrad.  “This is the asshole of the world”.  There are a few good lines.  When Wisse talks about how he was taught to not rely on God, Kasselbach responds:  “Until you blow a tire.”  The chaplain chides a disbeliever with:  “Sometimes God only reveals himself in Hell.”  The narration is documentary style and gives a great overview of the military situation.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

STRATEGY AND TACTICS:

                “Brest Fortress” is based on a true story, so the strategy and tactics are supposedly accurate.  The Germans send an infiltration unit dressed as Soviets to cut water and electricity.  They open the battle with an artillery bombardment and try frontal assaults at first, until heavy losses cause them to settle into a siege.  Air attacks by Stukas are used to weaken the defenses.  The Germans wait for the desperate defenders to attempt to break out and then ambush them.  The Soviets are on the defensive for the most part.  They maintain heavy fire on the bridge leading into the fortress.  At one point, one Soviet group meets a German infantry/tank assault by charging to close the distance so the tanks can’t be as effective.  This was a bit shaky.  Overall, nothing happens that is head-scratching.  GRADE  =  A  (9)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” is not based on a true story, but the big picture information about the battle is accurate.  The movie does an outstanding job informing the audience about the pincer movement that got the Germans surrounded.  Although a movie that concentrates on just a few German soldiers, there is coverage of the decision making by von Paulus.  The audience learns that the German commander disregarded sound advice from his subordinates because he was too loyal to Hitler.  It does a great job on the Hoth offensive which failed to break through.  On the micro level, the movie does give a taste for the house-to-house aspect of the battle, but you do not get a good feel for how desperate the fighting was.  There is the rare appearance of artillery spotting, but the Germans are low ammunition so we don’t actually see the tactic in operation.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

AMOUNT OF COMBAT: 

                “Brest Fortress” has a total of about 18 minutes of combat.  That is about 13% of the total.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” has 10 minutes of combat which is about 11% of the movie.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

FINAL SCORE:  Brest Fortress    33

                           Stalingrad:  Dogs  30

ANALYSIS:

                Although the quantity of combat is similar, “Brest Fortress” is much more of a combat movie than “Stalingrad:  Dogs Do You Want to Live Forever?”, so given the goal of the tournament, it is the more worthy entrant.  I love both movies and have seen both multiple times.  I do tend to think modern movies have advantages in portraying realistic combat, so “Brest Fortress” has an advantage that it does not waste by going overboard like some combat porn movies do.  In fact, neither of these movies fits in the combat porn subgenre.  Ironically, the two movies tread similar ground.  Both cover sieges from the losing side.   The Battle of Stalingrad lasted for months and the movie covers the second half of it.  It was such a huge battle that although the movie is excellent in giving the big picture, it is limited to showing the effects on a few men.  “Fortress of War” covers a siege that lasts for days instead of months and takes place in a small area.  It is much more a battle movie than “Stalingrad: Dogs…”  and is able to cover not just individuals, but also groups of soldiers.  Once again, the better movie had moved on.

 

Tae Guk Gi (1) vs. Brest Fortress (8)

 

REALISM

                “Tae Guk Gi” is the story of two brothers who are conscripted into the South Korean army early in the Korean War.  Jin-tae is the older and vows to keep his brother Jin-seok alive.  He can get his brother discharged if he wins a medal, so he takes extreme risks in battle and becomes a big national hero.  Jin-seok is not interested in being “saved” by his brother and their relationship sours, especially as Jin-tae begins to love killing.  In a strange series of events, they end up on opposite sides and face each other in battle.  The plot is as gonzo as the combat and clearly is not based on a true story.  As with most Korean war movies, you can expect the combat to be unrealistically extreme, but in this case the plot is probably even more unrealistic.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

                “Brest Fortress” is based on the siege of the fortress in 1941 on the Eastern Front in WWII.  The central character is a teenager named Sasha who spends the siege trying to link up with his girlfriend.  Although he is the typical resilient survivor, his arc is not ridiculous.  His travails are intercut with the defense by several groups of Soviet soldiers led by historical figures.  Since this is a 2010 Russian feature instead of a Soviet propaganda piece, it is more realistic than many Soviet war films.  It was vetted by the Brest Fortress museum.  The combat is similar to that of a Korean war movie, but considering the brutal fight, it corresponds accurately to what took place.  GRADE  =  A (9)

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

                “Brotherhood of War” focuses on two main characters.  Jin-tae is the stereotyped soldier turned warrior.  Rambo was probably a regular joe at the start, too.  His development into a crazed killer is a bit over the top considering there are no drugs involved.  Jin-seok starts as the wimpy pacifist, but his transformation into a patriotic warrior is even more problematic.  The change has no clear tipping point.  The rest of the small unit are not developed much.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

                “Fortress of War” spends only one day introducing the characters before the onslaught begins.  Sasha is a bit of a stereotype and the rest of the characters are basically stoical Red Army leaders.  Their actions make sense given the crisis they are in and the lack of options they have.  They put up the kind of defense you would expect from a Soviet Alamo.  The movie does not develop any German characters.  GRADE  =  C (7)

SOLDIER BEHAVIOR

                “Tae Guk Gi” does not spend a lot of time with the men.  We do see the hardships they are faced with in the dirty war.  They do a lot of complaining, as soldiers of every army do.  They ask “why are we here?”.  The named characters are a bit too enthusiastic in battle, with Jin-tae being superhuman.  In order to bring his brother back from the dark side, Jin-seok has to march the same path, but without the lunacy.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

                “Brest Fortress” is mainly command-centric.  No average soldier is developed so we get no soldier banter.  Hardships are inferred, for example the lack of water.  Some of the men want to surrender, which is logical under the circumstances.  They are representative of the soon to be long-suffering Soviet soldiers.  They follow orders and die well.  GRADE  =  C  (7)

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

                “Tae Guk Gi” is the king of the South Korean war movies.  It put them on the map.  It still represents the best example of the combat porn style they are famous for.  This means it’s a must-see for combat porn lovers, but holds less interest for an average audience.  And little for females.  As a pure war movie, it has few peers.  There is plenty of action, but some of the plot developments are distracting.  I also find it does not improve with multiple viewings.    GRADE  =  B  (8)

“The Fortress of War” has some aspects of a docudrama and strives to stay true to the historical event.  The addition of the Sasha character brings the audience into the fort and gives it a stake in the outcome.  It mixes the warriors with civilians well.  There are some female characters, including Sasha’s girlfriend.  The narrative is advanced between battle scenes.  The cinematography and combat choreography are eye-popping.  There is some poignancy to the ending.  GRADE  =  A  (9)

FINAL SCORE:  Fortress  32  Tae Guk Gi  29

ANALYSIS:  The two movies have a similar quantity and quality of combat.  They are both great combat movies and represent their nation’s modern war movies very well.  I have seen a lot of South Korean war movies and “Tae Guk Gi” is in the top three.  The same could be said for “Brest Fortress” as it represents the new style in Russian war films.  It sure looks like their directors have been influenced by Korean films.  The reason why the Russian film won was it is more well-rounded.  The characterizations make more sense.  It also has the advantage of being based on a real historical event. It adds educational value to its entertainment value.  It simply is a better movie.