Résistance

I think that it is quite a decent war movie, at par or better than "Enemy at the gates". There is very good performance for the main character. Cliché of Soviet communist organizer in US; but movie shall have a non good communist character, as real life had at the time. Very chilling and excellent scene of 10 year old girl reciting "Kill German" poem, and in all likelihood the girl was killed herself few months down the road. I waiting for English version to show to my friends, but translation going to be very difficult and will result in lower quality - a lot of important subtle messages in the movie is use of Russian, Ukranian dialect of Russian, and Ukranian languages, as well as some subtle elements to Russian-Jewish culture.

First of all the movie is misnamed. It is no more about the battle for Sevastopol than Dr. Zhivago was about the Russian Revolution. A better title might have been, "Lyudmila's War." This was an excellent character study of the battle between the inhumanity of war and the humanity of the people who are forced to wage it. I found the film to be very well done and once into it, had to see it through. The war scenes were vivid and believable, and the characters were played realistically. One could see the changes that overcame the heroine, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who was initially tepid about killing but warmed to the task--to the point of actually relishing in it. She reveled in competing with men--even in an environment that was nominally committed to gender equality. We witnessed a transformation from a studious girl, who was never appreciated by her stern military father, to a killing machine (who refused to leave the battlefield, even when seriously wounded)--with snatches of the frailties of emerging womanhood. It is a complex tale, one that should be watched at least twice to realize its full impact.

It's a weird time to see a joint Ukrainian and Russian film project to come out, considering the breakdown in relations between the two countries. The production apparently begun before the conflict, and it's an achievement in itself that it's been seen through, since a project like this probably wouldn't be possible today.

Coming in the wake of Russian WWII-themed schlock like Stalingrad (2013), I didn't expect too much, and there was a somewhat similar, almost gaudy quality present, but overall the movie was much more decent, particularly considering that its budget was about 5 times smaller than Stalingrad's. The actors were well cast, with Yuliya Peresild's performance creating a main character that can grow on you, and some interesting supporting characters. This brings me to the point that, despite the title, the movie's focus isn't as much on the port city of Sevastopol as it's on the Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, and the movie being called "Battle for Sevastopol" betrays an apparent lack of confidence in selling a biopic of a female sniper. There's a fair amount of action in the movie, however, so I don't think that the kind of people who wouldn't go for a biopic would come away disappointed or feeling mislead.

To give us the single view from a member of the army and how the woman behind the gun went on to become who she became (soldier, reformist sort of and a person of "interest" or at least of some pull, concerning her voice), might have gone wrong, but the movie itself handles everything smoothly.

That doesn't mean the ascend of the sniper is smooth. There are bumps and other hurdles she has to take. And her character gets tested too. The feeling of empowerment, the feeling of revenge, the feeling of love and sadness. It might seem like a roller-coaster ride at times, but it's not like feelings are just dismissed like that. They are there and there are periods where we feel certain things we might be ashamed of later. That doesn't make us less of human beings. Flaws are in us, it's ourselves who have to overcome them ...

Lyudmila Pavlichenko is a good student who can never match the ideals of her austere NKVD, Officer father. Then war breaks out and it is discovered that she is a crack shot. So she is made to join the snipers after the Germans invade in 1941 through Operation Barbarossa. She is also a woman with the needs of such and has already attracted a few suitors, one is aspiring doctor – however, she is more enamoured with her commanding officer.

The fates of war mean that you must seize today what may be gone tomorrow and that is a theme that is more or less a constant throughout this. It follows the plight of the Russians as they retreat across their vast country until they are able to build up their forces to give the invading Nazi's the righteous kicking they so keenly deserve. This though ends with the stand at Sevastopol and Lyudmila's personal and actual battles on and off the field of battle.

Now the action scenes are all very good, the character development is fine too. The acting is all above average and the CGI is good in most parts. Some of the Americans are dubbed though which I always find annoying but that is a small gripe for what is in the main part a really good war film with full on emotions thrown in for added pathos and drama; this is not up to the calibre of say 'The Admiral' but is still deserving of a watch – recommended.