February
22
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STALINGRAD (3D)
STALINGRAD (3D)
Run time: 131mins
Director: Fyodor Bondarchuk
Cast: Pyotr Fyodorov, Thomas Kretschmann, Maria Smolnikova, Sergey Bondarchuk, Yana Studilina
Synopsis: ‘Stalingrad’ is an epic look at the battle that turned the tide of World War II. A band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to two Russian women who have been living there. Presented in 3D, the scale of the battle contrasts dramatically with the human drama of the Russian soldiers, the few remaining civilians and the invaders of Stalingrad.
The legendary battle of Stalingrad, always described as one of the bloodiest confrontations in World War II and a turning point in the war, has frequently been the subject of films.
Stalingrad in 3D must be the most unusual and ambitious take on the subject. The first Russian film to be entirely shot in 3D and also released in the 3D IMAX format, it is a part old-fashioned WWII epic and part $30 million modern update of the subject – a historical recreation that is disturbingly real.
The 2011 Japanese Fukushima earthquake frames the story. A Russian rescue team leader, Sergey (Sergey Bondarchuk) tells a trapped female German student the story of his mother’s experiences surviving the Battle of Stalingrad. ‘I had five fathers” he tells her mysteriously.
In flashback, a group of Soviet reconnaissance troops under the command of Captain Gromov (Pyotr Fyodorov) are sent to prepare the way for a larger landing by Soviet troops crossing the Volga river into their sector of the city. The group occupy a building that also shelters some surviving civilians, including the young Katya (Maria Smolnikova), and soon they are fighting German troops attempting to take the building. Kahn (Thomas Kretschmann), the officer commanding the German troops, falls in love with a Soviet woman found sheltering in a nearby building, a young woman named Masha (Yana Studilina).
Stalingrad is a gruelling and vivid portrayal of the mayhem of war, leavened with two key human story strands and a memorable score from Angelo Badalamenti.
Images courtesy of Sony Pictures
