Epic Battles And Epic Romance In THE BATTLE OF SEVASTOPOL

The military epic has increasingly become a staple of contemporary Russian cinema, with crowds coming out en masse to indulge in big patriotic spectacle based in past military conflict. World War II has provided particularly strong grist for the mill with emotions still running high about the massive cost borne by Russia on the Eastern Front of that war to stop the Nazi advance, to say nothing of the fact that that WWII is arguably the last point that Russia received widespread international approval for their military action, allowing audiences to indulge in some patriotic pride free of any sort political angst.

Which brings us to upcoming effort The Battle Of Sevastopol, which plays to the previously established formula with a couple of notable wrinkles. This is a grand scale war picture, yes, blending high end CGI with large scale practical battle sequences for massive effect but it also weaves in a strong romantic element with a female soldier as a key character in an element clearly meant to broaden the audience.

And then there are the politics ...

Sevastopol, for those unaware, is a key city in the Crimean peninsula. And Crimea, of course, became the center of a major conflict between Ukraine and Russia earlier this year when unmarked Russian forces infiltrated the Ukrainian controlled territory to foment and aid in a rebellion which has since expanded to Russian forces pressing into other territories in the east of Ukraine. Given production timelines of a film on this scale there is virtually no way at all that producers could have known what was going to happen in the actual territory when they began production on the film but the marketing of a very much pro-Russia, we're the protectors of Sevastopol film against the backdrop of a real life Russian invasion of that same territory becomes laced with all sorts of new meaning.

You can take a look at the trailer below.