The Battle of Sevastopol

This no holds barred biographical film tells the true story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a young Soviet Ukrainian who had to put her university studies on hold in order to join the Red Army and consequently fight the escalating Nazi invasion. Nicknamed ‘Lady Death’, she became one of the most feared and deadliest snipers during WW2, culminating in a friendship with America’s ’First Lady’ Eleanor Roosevelt… First, however, Lyudmila was to experience harrowing scenes on the brutal battlegrounds before said meeting took place…

Lyudmila Pavlichenko (Yulia Peresild) is an attractive young woman who, in many respects, is just like her friends: after university lessons the gang like to hang about on the beach, flirt and enjoy ice cream, or Lyuda (as her friends call her) helps her mother at home in the kitchen. It’s clear from the outset that she has a strained relationship with her stern father and eventually we find out that one of the reasons for this, or perhaps the main reason, is the fact that he had hoped for a boy instead of a girl. In order to impress her father – a seasoned fighter with the Russian Army, Lyuda – a highly patriotic individual, takes lessons in rifle shooting and soon usurps her male colleagues. Her skills as a ‘sniper to be’ do not go unnoticed with the authorities and for six months she is sent to a special school where she is trained as a bona fide marksman. Proud on the one hand over her acceptance she is also disappointed as it means she has to interrupt her studies at university. After her release from training she is introduced to Chopak (Nikita Tarasov), a young doctor who immediately falls for her and both his family and Lyuda’s hope to hear wedding bells in the not too distant future. The headstrong Lyuda, meanwhile, has other plans… she would rather go into battle than play the demure housewife, and soon signs up to fight against the invading enemy in Odessa together with her compatriots. Soon the full horrors of war in the trenches become a daily nightmare for the brave young woman who sees her fellow fighters literally blown to bits and on several occasions is wounded herself. Despite the hardship and setbacks a little romance soon is in the air but it is tragically cut short when her love interest gets killed in action. At one point Lyuda is so badly injured she is deemed an invalid and presented with a dismissal order but she soldiers on – much to the chagrin of Chopak, who still hopes to marry her and now works as an army doctor. One can’t feel but sorry for the man who is obviously so much in love with our heroine but cavalier enough to let her have romantic involvements with other men, knowing that his feelings are not returned by her.

Despite the invalid note Lyuda which renders her unfit for service, in the autumn of 1941 she and her much battered and depleted troop now prepare for the ultimate battle at Sevastopol, a strategic port on the Black Sea. After 309 confirmed kills, Lyuda is considered not only one of the deadliest snipers but her skills are so high in demand that Chopak reluctantly waivers the ‘invalid note’ and Lyuda and her compatriots soon prepare for the mighty attack from the German enemy… it is a battle during which see loses yet another love interest – a sergeant with whom she had hoped to spend her life after the war. Realising that despite all this Chopak still loves her and stands by her, her feelings towards him finally change but it is too late...
The battle scenes depicted on the Russian front are truly harrowing and it’s all mud, blood and guts. There is some reprieve however when the location (in various interludes) changes from the Soviet Union to the United States where Lyuda is sent to campaign for American support and leaves a lasting impression on First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Joan Blackham). An unlikely bond develops between the two women whose lives come from complete opposite poles.

THE BATTLE FOR SEVASTOPOL is impressively directed and plaudits must go to Yuriy Korol’s cinematography – capturing the allure of small town Russian seaside resorts as well as the blood-drenched realities of the unforgiving battlefields.
The performances are equally impressive, foremost of course it’s Yulia Peresild’s portrayal of ‘Lyudmila Pavlichenko’ that stand out. One can only guess what training and rehearsals for the actors must have been like!
It is a film which is admittedly not easy to watch, but for those interested in the history of WW2 it’s compulsory viewing.