Review of San Pietro

This is the next film in my US military propaganda films series. This film feels more like a documentary than a propaganda film though. I think Huston made this as an anti-war film but the military tried to use it as a pro-war film. Since the majority of the film is scenes of battle and showing military tactics on a map, the military most likely showed the horrors as a training video to take war seriously, rather than an anti-war film to scare people away from war. Many dead bodies and body bags are shown. Even though it is disturbing, I'm a bit dumb to this shock value with modern times, as beheading and school shooting videos are being released casually. So, the film itself isn't that interesting to me. Others may love it but it was narration over war footage, to put it simply. However, even though the entertainment factor was dull for me, I think it is wonderful that a documentary exists on this specific battle and shows so many soldiers' faces and documentation of the event. Lastly, there were three great moments at the end of the film that I think make the film a bit more interesting and earn a few more points. First, there different shots of Italian women carrying various things on their heads, some of them without using their hands! I liked that. Second, there were men either burying or unearthing a body in a bag and it was heartbreaking to see the one man grab at the body and start crying. Third, there were shots of children smiling at the camera which I found a very beautiful thing to see. They end the film with a hopeful note with footage of church goers and farming. The narrator says it's going to be a good harvest this year, implying that since the battle is over, they're going to have a period of peace and restoration. On a realistically disturbing note, he is correct. With all of the dead bodies in the earth, it will be a very nutrient-rich soil. Apologies to be graphic, but I was recently researching human composting and I couldn't help but notice this. So, this was the least propagandic film in the series so far and although there were some great shots, I wouldn't say it was the most interesting either.