DVD Review of The Star (Zvezda)
Director Nikolai Lebedev has gone back to World War Two to celebrate an heroic Russian fighting unit that were partly responsible in bringing forward the end of the war by immersing themselves in enemy territory. In this case the territory was Poland and the enemy was Nazi Germany. The Star (Zvezda), released in 2002, tells the story of the brave young men and women who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their country and for the rest of the world.
The film is not as expressively or poignantly bleak as Elem Klimov’s Come and See from 1985, but is still worthwhile on its own terms. Unlike that film, the production values render The Star as being more suitable for a mainstream international audience, though it still keeps a certain authenticity despite not having the non-manipulated harrowing long takes and sparse dialogue of Klimov’s film. Also, it’s worth noting that Battleship Potemkin, Andrei Tarkovsky’s films and Come and See were products of the Mosfilm Studios (founded in 1920), that was responsible for The Star. The other connection is that the character of Anikanov is played by the actor Aleksei Kravchenko who won a government award for his performance in this film. He was the child actor (actually 14 at the time) in Come and See and, after watching both films, his earlier performance was hard to surpass.
Regards the plot development and pacing of The Star, I particularly like the way it depicts what happens when the fighting isn’t taking place, how mundane things and slow life in war is depicted and that only makes the sudden attacks and death all the more random. Where I think this film does work is the hell on earth scenario that is war is only the case when someone gets killed. The rest of the time things are quite peaceful, despite the overriding fear that at any time something terrible may happen and life, in the first person at least, will end.
The casting of women in war films introduces a romantic element to the storyline that lowers the harrowing tone of lives being lost. Arguably, women in war films pull the heart strings more with the love interest in such a genre something of a Hollywood invention. If we were to use the term realism here, I am not sure how authentic an account we would have of war with people falling in love on the battlefield, albeit this is kept to a repressed level here.
The extras add good value to the DVD. Included is an interview with producer Karen Shakhnazarov, an interview with director Nikolai Lebedev, deleted scenes, photo gallery, filmographies, optional Russian stereo and 5.1 audio, plus the ubiquitous DVD chapter selection.
In summary, The Star is not as good as Come and See but as a film about the Russian experience in World War Two, it is still a worthwhile companion piece and also a very good film to add to any recommended war genre list. Aside from the over stylising in some scenes and the need to incorporate a love story element, it works well as a period war film.
Director Nikolai Lebedev has gone back to World War Two to celebrate an heroic Russian fighting unit that were partly responsible in bringing forward the end of the war by immersing themselves in enemy territory. In this case the territory was Poland and the enemy was Nazi Germany. The Star (Zvezda), released in 2002, tells the story of the brave young men and women who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their country and for the rest of the world.
The film is not as expressively or poignantly bleak as Elem Klimov’s Come and See from 1985, but is still worthwhile on its own terms. Unlike that film, the production values render The Star as being more suitable for a mainstream international audience, though it still keeps a certain authenticity despite not having the non-manipulated harrowing long takes and sparse dialogue of Klimov’s film. Also, it’s worth noting that Battleship Potemkin, Andrei Tarkovsky’s films and Come and See were products of the Mosfilm Studios (founded in 1920), that was responsible for The Star. The other connection is that the character of Anikanov is played by the actor Aleksei Kravchenko who won a government award for his performance in this film. He was the child actor (actually 14 at the time) in Come and See and, after watching both films, his earlier performance was hard to surpass.
Regards the plot development and pacing of The Star, I particularly like the way it depicts what happens when the fighting isn’t taking place, how mundane things and slow life in war is depicted and that only makes the sudden attacks and death all the more random. Where I think this film does work is the hell on earth scenario that is war is only the case when someone gets killed. The rest of the time things are quite peaceful, despite the overriding fear that at any time something terrible may happen and life, in the first person at least, will end.
The casting of women in war films introduces a romantic element to the storyline that lowers the harrowing tone of lives being lost. Arguably, women in war films pull the heart strings more with the love interest in such a genre something of a Hollywood invention. If we were to use the term realism here, I am not sure how authentic an account we would have of war with people falling in love on the battlefield, albeit this is kept to a repressed level here.
The extras add good value to the DVD. Included is an interview with producer Karen Shakhnazarov, an interview with director Nikolai Lebedev, deleted scenes, photo gallery, filmographies, optional Russian stereo and 5.1 audio, plus the ubiquitous DVD chapter selection.
In summary, The Star is not as good as Come and See but as a film about the Russian experience in World War Two, it is still a worthwhile companion piece and also a very good film to add to any recommended war genre list. Aside from the over stylising in some scenes and the need to incorporate a love story element, it works well as a period war film.
posted by Steven Yates at 3:45 PM
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