Film Perfection

A Brilliant Conflict

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I vividly recall when watching the opening minutes of "Saving Private Ryan", the incredible feeling of being a part of the actual scenario of carnage rather than a mere viewer of an excellent war movie. One almost felt the need to duck the firepower, so realistic was the sight and sound of battle.A similar feeling was created by viewing this movie about the destruction of the Brest fortress, except here, the bombardment by the invading Germans was staggeringly relentless. The production values of this movie are indeed exceptional, and despite the usual whines from war buffs about the armaments used or the procedure of attack depicted (these pedants are such a pain!) the realism is captured as well as in any war film I have seen. Such is the detail of mangled and bloodied bodies, one almost needs a second viewing to appreciate the attention given to every scene.An extraordinary depiction of the futility of war and man's inhumanity to man.

Fortress Of War, what can I say? Some will no-doubt criticise its, one-sided view of war (It was commissioned by the Belarusian government) But then how much of Hollywood is just pure self-indulgence? Oh wow America saves the World again... again... and again..Yawn...In summary, the film is an assured and confident retrospective.It's told through the eyes of a selfless young boy, whose heroism shows that there is hope beyond the madness of war.Divorced Dads Cinema Club Rating 83% – A convincing, unsparing war reflective

Produced in honour of the Red Army soldiers defending the USSR Western borders, Fortress of War recounts historical events combined with fictitious chronicles surrounding the June 1941 siege of the Brest Fortress in Sothern Belorussia against the invading Wehrmacht Army Group Centre forces in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa.This historical event is creatively accompanied by reminiscing narration from an orphaned 15-year old boy named Sasha Akimov. His narration ties together three main defensive stages led by real life Soviet war heroes centered on the resistance zones holding out against the protracted German siege. One location is headed by regiment commander Pyotr Gavrilov (Aleksandr Koshunov) another by the political commissar Yefim Fomin (Pavel Derevyanko) and lastly the head of the 9th frontier outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov (Andrey Merzlikin). All three have a different story to tell. The film begins in an archetypal peaceful, though nervous per-war Belorussia in the summer of 1941. The heavy military presence contained in Brest, notably its historic 19th century fortress, explains the current political situation in the country following the Nazi conquest of Western Europe and the Politburo's rightful suspicions of Hitler next intended target. The focal characters are simultaneously introduced intermediately around Sasha's observational narration. The ensuing bombardment by Wehrmacht artillery and brutal assault comes with-out warning and is unleashed with fuming panic. The film thus continues along a direction of separate combat charges and defensive manoeuvres. These numerous skirmishes and scuffles between the two opposing armies are effective, edgy and well-staged. All the combat scenes are extremely effective and mastered by the production team using special effects and pyrotechnics to their full advantage. Because the film was produced by the Belarusfilm Company and in truth many of the cast and crew either lived or parents lived through the nightmare of the Wehrmacht invasion and resultant onslaught of the population, the accuracy to detail is visually authentic and at no point attempts to introvert away from the brutality faced by their ancestral soldiers or civilians during these troubled times. Yet, it does not go unnoticeable that this film contains blotches of patriotism and benevolence. The narration shifts between characters and their dilemmas in the three separate defensive locations at the beginning may appear to be unclear and confusing. Nevertheless, through skillful editing and directing as the film moves along at a steady peace the separate stories begin to coalesce into one and by no means are a distraction.In summary, Fortress of War is a first-rate factual dramatised war movie which subjects its audience to the brave climatic struggle for survival and once again is another example of the evolving historical films from the Counties brutalised by ideology fuelled hatred and genocide that was the Second World War.

Positiv: The sound engineer and the explosives guys did a great job indeed. Great camera: Little of this horrible close-up-shakycamera-war-movie camera in fast and nervous montage, which is refreshing. The actors deliver a great performance.Negative: -Tactically, its like the A-Team with lots of casualties added. -The main plot is untouched: The fortress is pointless. The attackers just moved around and left pockets of resistance to the second line mop-up troops. The German advance was not hold up by this fighting, no important road or railway was blocked by the fortress. It would have been a nice angle to the story to portrait the relentless defense put up despite knowing the pointlessness all of that. That leads to me being unable to connect ("feel along") to the characters. Not the soldiers put up the fight but the officers and commissars lead the headless pack. The soldiers do what they are told and die attacking over open ground without anyone questioning this.A fair share propaganda can be overlooked, because in sowjet times you obviously had to build it in. The breathtaking "come and see" has its propaganda captives scenes at the end, but its a side note to the amazing movie. Here, its too much. The propaganda spin of the story is told, not the story behind the propaganda story. So just six stars to the hero fortress.