Chris SuffieldNew to DVD and celebrating its 10th anniversary is Russian World War 2 movie The Star.
New to DVD and celebrating its 10th anniversary is Russian World War 2 movie The Star. Director Nikolay Lebedev’s intimate film tells the story of a small group of Soviet soldiers who go on a scouting mission to spy on enemy movements.
Based on a short story by Emmanuil Kazakevich, the movie takes its title from the name of the group of seven snipers that embark on an impossible mission.
Early on the group encounter an enemy force, crawling under barbwire to avoid detection they narrowly escape being spotted. It’s with tense sequences like this that make The Star a unique take on the war movie.
Despite a modest budget the movie contains intense and powerful battle scenes, but the true impact of the film is not on the battlefield but within the friendships of the seven brave men who face certain death in the name of their motherland.
There are natural comparisons to the likes of Saving Private Ryan, the focus is on a small band of soldiers on a mission. Whilst The Star lacks the big budget of Hollywood productions, it’s just as moving and tells another unknown story of a global event that forever changed a generation.
The climatic battle is harrowing; with the group outnumbered and outgunned they make a desperate last stand against German soldiers. The chilling score by Aleksei Rybnikov adds to the emotional impact of the closing scenes, which holds no punches in depicting the horrors of war.
The performances are all believable and each character serves the overall story very well, however Aleksey Kravchenko as Sgt. Anikanov gives a stand out performance.
The Star is a haunting and powerful war movie that leaves a lasting impression long after the credits roll. If you’re a fan of world cinema or the war genre, then The Star is defiantly worth checking out on DVD.
