denis888 Every nation has their sacred topics, for Russians, this is Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, and as a result, more than 27 000 000 people were killed, and thus it is almost not possible to touch this topic with almost a slighter hint of doubt or criticism. The war caused a huge array of war movies made in the former USSR, as well as modern Russia. Many were great, many were just banal, mediocre efforts. The Brest Fortress is a 2010 work, and it introduces many famous contemporary Russian actors, and the budget is very big. As a result, a very tragic, deep, heavy, dark and merciless film was made. It depicts first week of the war in June 1941, and it shows deeply tragic fates of Fortress defenders. Apart from obvious inaccuracies or goofs, there are huge and impressive battle scenes with many great moments. But the feeling of deja vu and seeing an old Soviet propaganda film does not leave us here. Well done, but with very obvious touches of pro-Soviet sentiments

Richard von Lust There can be no doubt that The Fortress is a cinematic masterpiece with grade one photography, acting, special effects, screenplay, pace and emotional depth. None of this is questioned and all readers are recommended to view it. Basing the story from the viewpoint of a child trainee soldier was particularly effective and the film effortlessly holds viewer attention throughout the generous 138 minutes.Moreover the film was well researched in many aspects. Not only were the sets extremely accurate in their portrayal of the fortress but even the ruins were perfectly reconstructed from post war photographs. The officers really existed and their heroism was deservedly depicted.But it is without question a work of huge political propaganda. And it completely failed to illustrate the true horror of war as it really happened.In every battle the wounded always outnumber the dead. Indeed many die subsequent to the injuries of combat and the percentage of soldiers killed outright is normally rather low. War is not a computer game in which the fallen just drop dead on the spot with a little groan. It is a sea of suffering and screaming and agony in which the able are caught in a quandary whether to aid the victims or run for safety.But this was not at all captured in the film. The victims just die instantly and lie there in huge peaceful heaps. Even their faces appear as if they just went to sleep. Of course this is rubbish.The film depicts those Russians that fought on as heroes whilst any soldiers that left are slurred with the implication of cowardice. The Germans are portrayed as inhuman killing machines without compassion and slurred with the entirely untrue concoction of using civilians as human shields in their attack. Russian attacks are shown as courageous head on charges across open ground as if they were led by 19th.century heroes whilst in fact the leadership was inept and too inexperienced to coordinate effective counter attacks. The film did not portray the brutal use of boy soldiers by the Russians as ammunition feeders to machine gun posts and ID tag collectors from the fallen. And Commissar Fomin is shown to have given himself up for execution as a Jew whilst in fact he was betrayed by his own men as a hated Bolshevic. Such details suggest a very different reality inside the stubborn pockets of resistance than the film portrays. And it takes little imagination to understand the motive.'Stalingrad', the notable 1993 epic of that engagement remains supreme in the honest depiction of war and this film cannot reach it. Ultimately heroism and barbarism are individual aspects of battle and not national psychologies. But this film attempts to show good and evil as if there can be a good side to war. And it never suggests that Russian preparations to attack Germany in 1942 were well under way in 1941 and that Hitler only attacked first before Stalin did the same to him.Sorry readers but this film must be taken with a large pinch of salt. Nevertheless I did shed a tear with the old man at the end and my heart went out to the young musician boy as it was meant to.

el-nebuloso 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.

Londonx54 I came across this film and got a little excited as the reviews were good and I am fascinated by the war on the eastern front. Unfortunately I had to turn the film off after an hour! The combat scenes are chronically unrealistic in my opinion. I know that Russian tactics were meant to be pretty basic at the beginning of the war but every scene seems to involve an infantry charge across open ground. The last scene, before I stopped the film, involved the Russians jumping up from cover and running a good 100 metres at the Germans who also seemed quite happy strolling around in the open whilst under fire. This feels more like 1812 than 1941.In an air raid at the beginning the film persistently showed mini-explosions occurring 6 feet away from the actors. What are these micro-bombs that only seem to happen in film world? They don't seem to do anything so I'm not sure why the Luftwaffe bother to drop them.