Enemy wings is an air warrior drama set in the 1940s. Set during world war 2, this series explored the soviet side of the war. Done without much animation, the storyline is very intriguing. The old age planes, the famous Russian winter, and the psychological impact of this war were clearly portrayed in this series.
Finding this series was a pure coincidence. Being a reader of history, I always felt that some of the defining moments of the 20th century were not given due representation. When it comes to the cinematic representation of world war 2, I often found a lack of representation of sides other than the western ones. Be it Indians, Africans, or even South Americans, who fought in this war; they were never portrayed so vividly for their contributions. It could be because of the colonization at the time. They were not independent nations but some colonies fighting for their masters.
In such a one-sided narrative being built, war dramas produced in the Soviet Union gave an alternate version of events. Mosfilm, and Starmedia youtube channels have such good dramas with English subtitles to experience an alternate version of events, from the Soviet Union’s perspective.
Let’s get back to our series.
This series talks about a Soviet fighter pilot “Rudakov” who was facing severe penalties by the military tribunal. Being one of the best pilots of the unit, he was recalled to fly an important mission. This mission required him to find out more about hidden German positions. His plane was shot down during the fighting. He falls behind the enemy lines and is captured by the German infantry units. They mistakenly took him on his own. In the military camp, he stole a German Messerschmitt and escaped after piloting this plane.
He joined the partisan groups after identifying the leader of this group as his old buddy. Together, they stole arms, ammunition, and fuel for the stoled aircraft. They started bombing the strategic assets of the German military. The Germans set up several traps for him but remained unsuccessful in capturing him.
Meanwhile, the military unit which has initially captured this pilot started to hunt him down too. The interesting piece in this series was the wife and son of “Rudakov”. They were also in the area controlled by Germans. His wife was a combat medic. Soon, both of them got united and start collaborating in partisan warfare.
In many twists, one of the disgruntled seniors of “Rudakov” showed up. The same senior who conspired against the pilot and eventually wanted him dead through military tribunal means. He gave some challenging missions to “Rudakov”. But eventually, the series ends on a happy note. This pilot survived, united with his family, and continued to fight the war.
The slow pace of the series makes it very annoying. The cinematography works are very good with real outdoors without the usage of animation. Looking at the old aircraft with not much heavy dialogues and decency in the filming, this drama gives a huge different angle to what we have been witnessing from Hollywood productions.
Watch this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xuoo8AXG4s
There are many more movies, and series to watch. All of them are in Russian language with English subtitles. It will give a good idea of looking at things from the Russian perspective.
Ankit Khandelwal 