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Enemy at the Gates , a new film by Jean Jacques-Annaud, is getting reviews of all colors. The film is based (very loosely) on a true story about a sniper in Stalingrad during World War II. Some critics are put off that what is basically an archetypical showdown would be cast in the middle of such a vast and complicated political conflict, a rivalry picture boasting to be historically significant. Others rave about its style, suspense, and performances. Critics in the religious media are likewise split.

Enemy tells the story of Vassili (Jude Law), a Russian shepherd who becomes a famous sniper and inspires the troops to resist Nazis during the 1942 battle of Stalingrad. A political officer named Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) trumpets Vassili's success stories, taking advantage of the gunner's skill to advance his own military career. But Vassili's fame spurs retaliation—a sinister German sniper named Konig (Ed Harris) comes looking for him, and a battle of cleverness and precise shooting is under way. When an attractive and militant woman (Rachel Wiesz) comes between Vassili and his agent, a formulaic love triangle develops.

Some of the critics in the religious media were disturbed to see a hero who was a socialist, although socialist soldiers valiantly resisted the Nazi forces in Stalingrad. Ted Baehr of Movieguide is offended that the film "extols Communism as the lesser of two evils." He claims the movie will "confuse people about the true nature of Stalinist Communism and Marxism itself." The film does show people serving Hitler and people serving Stalin, and it represents their differences sufficiently. But Bob Smithouser at Focus on the Family argues that one of the film's prominent socialists "ultimately recognizes the futility of socialism, acknowledging that there will always be envy and disparity regardless of government's attempt to vanquish them." Indeed, this crucial character does break down near the end, losing faith in his flawed beliefs. Michael Elliott at Movie Parables notes this scene as well. "These are words from a disheartened individual which ring true only because he was looking to a flawed, man-made doctrine for the answers." I too find that the film criticizes both schools of thought. Vassili is not inspiring us to rally around Stalin. Rather, he is trapped fighting for a cruel man against a cruel man. His triumph is to face and overcome his fears, to shoulder the weight of responsibility that leadership demands and give his fellow soldiers hope.

Regardless of the film's themes, the U.S. Catholic Conference calls Annaud's direction "flat," and says that "the narrow focus on the two mortal enemies reduces the war to a mere backdrop while the subplot's romantic triangle seems contrived." In spite of praising the film's craftsmanship on almost every level, Bob Smithouser concludes, "there's so much killing that viewers may feel the need for a truce. Those excesses ambush Enemy." But Phil Boatwright at The Dove Foundation reserves some of his highest praise for the film, calling it "the first great film of 2001." He writes, "I was uplifted by Enemy's fullness and its profundity. The writing, while never trivializing the characters with false sentimentality, is earnest, revealing and at times almost poetic. It entertained me with its action adventure and touched me with its characters' struggle to connect with the promise of what life is supposed to offer."

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March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45