|
First Squad:
The Moment of Truth
Anime Review
A young girl with extraordinary abilities is all that stands between Russia and the invading German army. During the winter of 1941/42, the Second World War comes to a temporary standstill on the Eastern Front yet both the Nazi forces and the Soviets are putting everything they have in order to turn the tide in their favor.
The Germans try the occult angle, and summon the long-dead Baron von Wolff (from the period of the crusades) to intercede during "the moment of truth" (a rare moment when actions of a single man can determine the outcome of an event, a battle or even the entire war) by decimating the Soviet forces using a Zombie Army. To counter this plan, special occult branch of the Soviet Intelligence, called 6th Division, deploys its best agent - 14-year-old esper girl Nadya, the only survivor from the special occult operations unit of 6th Division - the "First Squad".
 Nadya, with the help of some technology provided by her commander must enter the world of the dead to convince her comrades to pass through the gateway back into the world of the living to battle the oncoming zombie army.
First Squad: The Moment of Truth deals with an idea that's been explored before in Western comics and movies like Hellboy, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Captain America. WWII was fought not only by soldiers, but by experts of the occult on both sidesóspecifically on the Nazi side, thanks to Hitlerís obsession with mystical artifacts and powers.
 What's new about this take on it, however, is that the story is focused on the Russian side of WWII, something that hasn't really been explored much (especially to American audiences). Animation with scratchy film grain, black and white images, the muted color palette, interstitial talking-heads clips from historians, war veterans and researchers lend a documentary style to the overall production, making you feel like you're watching some recreation that should be shown on the History Channel rather than an anime.
The production itself is a co-production between Japanese and Russian studios, and frankly, I'm surprised this hasn't happened before -- I mean, just look at a map -- Russian can be seen from your house, *if* your house is in Japan.
 Previous Japanese/other collaborations have given us some intriguing projects: Afro Samurai, for instance, which was created specifically for an international (i.e., not just Japanese) market. First Squad shows how Russian entertainment companies are starting to step up their game as well, to draw on Russia's own history and culture for inspiration and create something new.
"Moment of Truth" sets itself up for a sequel, and frankly, while this film wasn't jaw-droppingly spectacular, it was *good enough* that this first step shows massive potential for something truly great.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, April 2012
Below: Scenes from First Squad: The Moment of Truth.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
