Resist!
| Resist! | |
| Director | Albert Pesaro |
| Producers | John Lavrenty |
| Starring | Oskar Ruprecht August Nielson Edward Helfred Wally Gerwazy |
| Distribution | Ministry of Culture (Malgrave) Released to MalMax in 1982 and re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2014 |
| Release Date | 2nd of December 1981 (Malgrave) |
| Runtime | 141 minutes |
| Country | Malgrave |
| Awards | |
| Language | Malgravean Ancient, Mystrian Common (Subtitles available in Equestrian and other languages) |
| Budget | $28,508,000 NSD |
| Rating | 18+ (Malgrave) |
Resist! is a Malgravean action film produced by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and the Territorial Defence Force Veteran's Assistance and Memorial Organisation (TDFVAM) based on the Battle of Communication Substation 341C. It has since gained cult status in the country and has been listed on several lists about action, war and Christmas films by various publications since its release.
Plot
The film starts inside a military truck carrying a bunch of young recruits deeper into the confines of a military base, the site of ongoing construction and industrialisation visible in the background. On their arrival at their boot-camp in what is revealed to be the industrial city of Pakosc the recruits meet their drill instructor, Major Filipov, a seasoned veteran of the Malgravean Civil War and survivor of Operation Swift. Throughout their time in the camp he is shown to be a brutal personality treating his recruits harshly and forcing them to take part in extreme physical and military exercises everyday while other soldiers are seen slacking off. Despite early confrontations between themselves and the instructor the recruits overcome their differences and build an extremely tight bond.
After successfully completing their training the soldiers are briefly sent to a holding facility outside Maldon in an apparent safe-area of the country, during this time they meet a squad of Royal Marines who have fulfilled their objectives and are due to return home. After the soldiers bond for a few moments about families and other loved ones it is revealed that the vehicle meant to return the marines home is broken and a replacement part won't be available for hours, feeling charitable Lieutenant Davies donates his vehicle to their new friends however within seconds of exiting the base it is caught in a mortar ambush and destroyed.
Once the threat has been dealt with from the hidden mortar squad the soldiers are assigned to the Tillingham Light Rifle's, the company Major Filipov served in during the war. Shortly after arriving the Lieutenant's platoon is deployed to the front-line as part of a nameless operation to holding an apparent 'minor' communications centre in order to keep eyes on the movements on separatist forces in the mountains. Initially intelligence from headquarters seems to ring true however key-words of the Major's training serve them well and during a routine perimeter patrol Private Kelly spots the start of an incoming attack, from this point onwards the facility is attacked from all sides from dozens of heavily armed fascist soldiers with weapons of all calibres and grenades being used until the separatistfall back to lick their wounds.
After another short break in the violence the attack is started again, only this time the platoon have the support of a nearby artillery battalion who with careful assistance from Sergeant Jones rain down heavy fire on the attacking fascists, despite this and the addition of some close air support the waves of enemies keep on coming and the addition of anti-aircraft fire from the separatist make friendly air support increasingly dangerous. In the climax of the film the fighting delves into bitter hand to hand fighting as soldiers from the platoon die it looks like the unit might fall victim to the war however despite losing several key members of the squad their days spent training serves them well and the platoon is shown gaining the upper hand. At this point heavier support comes in from the Royal Air Force with the anti-aircraft destroyed with a precision strike a wave of helicopter gunships enter the screen and massacre the now fleeing separatist forces. A bloody Lieutenant Davies exits one of the trenches and after looking at the chaos and carnage around he re-raises the national flag before raising his rifle triumphantly in the air and shouting the title of the film.
Bonus Features
In the Malgravean version of the film Lieutenant Davies gives a short speech about how it is important to resist the onslaught of the terrorist menace and defend freedom by fighting with honour and dignity in the Territorial Defence Force. When the film was re-released in foreign nations this feature was left as an optional extra.
After watching the re-release an exclusive behind the scenes documentary becomes available to watch with footage from the complex scenes and the heavy cooperation with the military highlighted for the viewer including the usage of live ammunition.
Controversies
During the production of one of the final battles miscommunication between the military and the film crew led to several deaths when an air and artillery strike were called to destroy a captured trench and an AA battery. Both the Ministry of Defence and Culture faced fierce criticism after it was revealed that they had dismissed earlier reports of faulty communication equipment on set.
In response to the news the National Coalition of Cinematic and Theatrical Extras (NCCTE), the Confederation of Working and Non-Working Actors (CWNA) and the Screenwriters Common Solidarity Fund (SCSF) threatened to petition the Most Illustrious Glorious Confederation of Proud Malgravean Proletarians (MIGCPMP) to order a national strike, unwilling to run the risk of a general strike the government ordered a review of procedures in the film and passed more stringent checks during the issue of aircraft and artillery during productions.
Reception
When the film was first released it was panned by critics who attacked it for its over reliance on violence with some commentators even claiming that the film should be censored by the Ministry of Cultural Sensitivity however due to the military situation at the time the film remained uncut and in subsequent years become a cult classic with the cinematic re-release in 2014 and subsequent store release causing chaos in both the cinema's and MalMart's across the country.
With the film's release in 2014, it took the #1 Spot in Kouralia, being praised for the involvement by the Malgravean military and the attention to both detail and good staging in the battle scenes. This made it especially popular because since the dawn of the Kouralian action or war movie, Kouralian Ministry of War support has been ubiquitous - from funding to providing extras and materiel for filming.