The movie seems a bit slow at first. One wonders if it's going to be a realistic crude harsh war movie, as we have grown accustomed to in the last years, or a romantic poetic depiction of this folk hero/legend.
As one gets into the film, one discovers it's both things. There are several sub themes. The jealousy and competitiveness between brothers, the strong contrasting point of views from how the German pilots lived and saw the war as compared to their infantry mud submerged counterparts, the beauty of the initial sportsmanship displayed by Richthoffen and many other airmen in their practice of war, the love story, and many more.
Perhaps the most appealing to some of us is the gradual turn of things towards the impending tragedy, how the characters seem to express it just in the way they look at each other and how this epic sized hero, well represented by the unknown actor Tomas Koutnik, embraces his fate with a powerlessness and dignity that reflects the whole of humanity's ultimate choices when faced with the certain end: play out the role you've been assigned in this life with dignity.
Congratulations to this director, his craftsmanship, the actors, the staff, and let me not forget specially that wonderful Lena Heady who is very sensual and sublime!
