I would say Zvezda is well worth seeing for its sociological value. In short, i see it as the kind of incredibly primitive patriotic propaganda deemed necessary to restore the faith of the population in Putin's tattered Russia by flattering the century-old Russian soft spot for militarism.
Besides, Lebedev openly and shamelessly copies Spielberg's "saving private Ryan". The rip-off become obvious when you compare the characters with the original short story (which was awarded the Stalin prize in 1947 !). You will see the German-speaking-greenhorn spring right from Spielberg's script. Same goes for the gross simplifications of the military context. As Spielberg replaces German garrison troops armed with 1940 obsolete French light tanks with first-line veterans supported by Tiger tanks, Lebedev makes up grotesque figures - 10 000 men to chase a handful of Russian scouts ! - and turns what the short story describes as a limited counter-offensive into the threat of an Eastern front version of the battle of the Bulge. This rewriting of history simply stinks.
On the same line, one can recognize a scene that borrows heavily from various elements of Sam Peckinpah's "cross of iron" in the middle of the movie. One can also notice the addition of the utterly idiotic final scene (a nearly perfect copy of the equally unrealistic private Ryan finale), where Russian cowboys slaughter stormtroopers (more star wars than Waffen SS style) by the dozen, where the aforementioned greenhorn uses his last breath to lecture the hero about switching a radio transmitter, where the good savage from the steppes, unhindered by a couple of rifle caliber bullets in the arm, continues picking off enemies 100 m away with his PPS 42 submachine-gun, the idiot Germans camp 50m from a barn they could have reduced to matchsticks from a safe distance with mortar, canon or machine-gun fire, etc.
The short story was also mainly a bunch of patriotic ranting, but at least the author had seen actual fighting and did not depict such stupid scenes (in the short story the scouts simply throw a couple of grenades at the handful of soldiers probing the barn and escape before the Germans can bring in reinforcement). It also contained some indications about the terrible pressure inside the Red Army during the Stalin era, the very limited support of the "liberated" populations of Bielorussia, and the savage behavior of soldiers of both camps. All this has been utterly wiped out from the movie, leaving only cardboard heroes fighting a kind of generic enemy.
By the way, I can't see how anyone could have appreciated the infamous performances of lieutenant Travkin and private Simakova. A fine example of over-the-top and contrived acting from these two main protagonists. Admitedly some secondary characters were not bad, within the limited bounds of their simplistic lines.
These kind of fictions that revel in both cheap and fake poetry of war (the reason why the only female character casts languid looks at the starry sky is unfortunately kind of lost in translation : speaking on the radio she can hear the hero say "ia zvezda" which can mean both "star speaking" and "I am a star") are just a step toward the building of another generation of canon fodder. Considering what is currently happening in Chechnya, that movie really gives me the creeps.
Have a look at "vremia sobirat' kamni" (the time to pick up stones (instead of throwing them)) instead. A much more interesting point of view on the sequels of WWII in Russia, that shows there is still room in Russia for directors wanting to go a bit farther than primary xenophobia and stupid, blind nationalism.
Besides, Lebedev openly and shamelessly copies Spielberg's "saving private Ryan". The rip-off become obvious when you compare the characters with the original short story (which was awarded the Stalin prize in 1947 !). You will see the German-speaking-greenhorn spring right from Spielberg's script. Same goes for the gross simplifications of the military context. As Spielberg replaces German garrison troops armed with 1940 obsolete French light tanks with first-line veterans supported by Tiger tanks, Lebedev makes up grotesque figures - 10 000 men to chase a handful of Russian scouts ! - and turns what the short story describes as a limited counter-offensive into the threat of an Eastern front version of the battle of the Bulge. This rewriting of history simply stinks.
On the same line, one can recognize a scene that borrows heavily from various elements of Sam Peckinpah's "cross of iron" in the middle of the movie. One can also notice the addition of the utterly idiotic final scene (a nearly perfect copy of the equally unrealistic private Ryan finale), where Russian cowboys slaughter stormtroopers (more star wars than Waffen SS style) by the dozen, where the aforementioned greenhorn uses his last breath to lecture the hero about switching a radio transmitter, where the good savage from the steppes, unhindered by a couple of rifle caliber bullets in the arm, continues picking off enemies 100 m away with his PPS 42 submachine-gun, the idiot Germans camp 50m from a barn they could have reduced to matchsticks from a safe distance with mortar, canon or machine-gun fire, etc.
The short story was also mainly a bunch of patriotic ranting, but at least the author had seen actual fighting and did not depict such stupid scenes (in the short story the scouts simply throw a couple of grenades at the handful of soldiers probing the barn and escape before the Germans can bring in reinforcement). It also contained some indications about the terrible pressure inside the Red Army during the Stalin era, the very limited support of the "liberated" populations of Bielorussia, and the savage behavior of soldiers of both camps. All this has been utterly wiped out from the movie, leaving only cardboard heroes fighting a kind of generic enemy.
By the way, I can't see how anyone could have appreciated the infamous performances of lieutenant Travkin and private Simakova. A fine example of over-the-top and contrived acting from these two main protagonists. Admitedly some secondary characters were not bad, within the limited bounds of their simplistic lines.
These kind of fictions that revel in both cheap and fake poetry of war (the reason why the only female character casts languid looks at the starry sky is unfortunately kind of lost in translation : speaking on the radio she can hear the hero say "ia zvezda" which can mean both "star speaking" and "I am a star") are just a step toward the building of another generation of canon fodder. Considering what is currently happening in Chechnya, that movie really gives me the creeps.
Have a look at "vremia sobirat' kamni" (the time to pick up stones (instead of throwing them)) instead. A much more interesting point of view on the sequels of WWII in Russia, that shows there is still room in Russia for directors wanting to go a bit farther than primary xenophobia and stupid, blind nationalism.