ENEMY AT THE GATES (2001)

Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Written by: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Starring: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Rachel Weisz, Joseph Fiennes
Rated: R

About the film:
A Russian sniper is beginning to have a demoralizing effect upon the German troops during the Battle of Stalingrad. A legendary German sniper is brought in to stalk and stop him. While WWII rages around them, these two men are locked in a personal battle of wit and ability.

Movie Quote:
“But there’s always something to envy. A smile, a friendship, something you don’t have and want to appropriate. In this world, even a Soviet one, there will always be rich and poor.”
Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) in Enemy at the Gates (2001)

Bible Quote:
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Deuteronomy 5:21 (NIV)


Commentary:
The Soviet political officer Danilov paints a rather bleak picture of the human condition. The potential for envy is certainly everywhere around us but just because the potential exists does not mean that we must succumb to it.

Envy is an insidious and debilitating emotion. It is an unhealthy desire that can never be satisfied even after the object of one’s desire is acquired. There will always be something else to envy.

When envy rules our thought life, nothing good will come as a result. Envy, as we know, causes strife and unhappiness. It can lead people to make foolish and unwise financial decisions as they try to “keep up with the Jones’s.”

The only way to get off of the “envy train” is to stop comparing what others have against what we either have or don’t have. Learning to always be thankful for what we have instead of building resentment over what we don’t have is a far more peaceful and beneficial way to live.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. What did Christ teach his followers about possessions? What was he concerned would happen if they did not heed his teachings?
2. What are some biblical examples of envy and how did their stories end?

Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com