The destiny of three soldiers during World War II. The German officer Christian Diestl approves less and less of the war. Jewish-American Noah Ackerman deals with antisemitism at home and in the army while entertainer Michael Whitacre transforms from playboy to hero.
There is not much to say about this film other than the following three things: One, it is a great war epic. War films can be told in shorter forms and longer forms, but I feel like this length (just under three hours) is a fair amount of time to develop characters and show how they have adapted to their changing surroundings (particularly Diestl and Whitacre).
Two, it is forgotten. At least, largely forgotten. I am sure film historians and critics know it well, but I have a strong knowledge of film history and criticism, and it is not one I had come across until now (2013). With all the other better-known war films out there i have to wonder how this got lost in the mix...
And three, although it was criticized for having a sympathetic Nazi, that should be where the film gets its most praise. Whether we like it or not, not everyone in Germany or who served in the German army was evil to the core. Most were regular citizens who were caught up in the situation. Had America tried to take over Canada or Mexico, they would have had just as many soldiers willingly going along for the ride -- the leaders and policies are to blame, and to show that these were questioned is this film's strongest statement.
There is not much to say about this film other than the following three things: One, it is a great war epic. War films can be told in shorter forms and longer forms, but I feel like this length (just under three hours) is a fair amount of time to develop characters and show how they have adapted to their changing surroundings (particularly Diestl and Whitacre).
Two, it is forgotten. At least, largely forgotten. I am sure film historians and critics know it well, but I have a strong knowledge of film history and criticism, and it is not one I had come across until now (2013). With all the other better-known war films out there i have to wonder how this got lost in the mix...
And three, although it was criticized for having a sympathetic Nazi, that should be where the film gets its most praise. Whether we like it or not, not everyone in Germany or who served in the German army was evil to the core. Most were regular citizens who were caught up in the situation. Had America tried to take over Canada or Mexico, they would have had just as many soldiers willingly going along for the ride -- the leaders and policies are to blame, and to show that these were questioned is this film's strongest statement.