Brest Fortress (Брестская крепость) is a 2010 Russian and Belorussian historical/war drama film. It is about the defense of the fortress against the Nazis, which was one of the first World War II battles that the Soviet Union took part in.
The film is highly accurate to the real-life event, presenting a documentary-like look at the first few days of the battle and depicting several real-life participants: Pyotr Gavrilov (Пётр Гаврилов), Yefim Fomin (Ефим Фомин), and Andrey Kizhevatov (Андрей Кижеватов), all high-level military figures. The film tracks them through the early hours and days of the battle and shows both the military and personal challenges they face.
The film was made on the initiative of the TV and radio organization of the Union State, the political/economic union between Russia and Belarus. The governments of Russia and Belarus supported the making of the film. One of the last surviving participants in the battle was hired as a consultant on the film, to ensure historical accuracy.
The film got mixed reviews from critics, among them some very good ones. It also got very good reviews from audiences—it has a higher than usual rating on KinoPoisk. This is somewhat unusual for a film that is meant to be patriotic. One reviewer, from Izvestia, said that the film is “a Soviet (in the good meaning of the word) look at war” and praised in particular the special effects in the impressive war scenes. The film won two technical awards at the Golden Eagles and a few more at the Nikas, but it didn’t win the major awards at either.
A second version of the film was created in 2011, an expanded four-episode TV miniseries.
Director: Aleksandr Kott (Александр Котт)
Stars: Aleksey Kopashov (Алексей Копашов), Gennadiy Garbuk (Геннадий Гарбук), Aleksandr Korshunov (Александр Коршунов), Pavel Derevyanko (Павел Деревянко), Andrey Merzlikin (Андрей Мерзликин)
Production company: Belarusfilm, Central Partnership
Box office take: $4.4 million
Official trailer:
