Short Review: Usually, "anti-war" means "anti-thought". This film is the exception.


When someone says “anti-war” today people tend to think of seething undergraduate morons who parrot the leftist drivel they’ve picked up between bong hits. Since Vietnam, the term “anti-war” has less to do with actual philosophy or serious thought about warfare and more about the bedwetting left stabbing our soldiers in the back for political gain. This film is a profound and truthful anti-war film that transcends the usual canard ridden screeds we hear today.

This film tells the story of Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), a French officer trying to survive in the trenches of WWI. Dax is confronted by a horrible situation. After a failed suicide mission, he is forced by his superiors to select three men from the ranks to be tried and then executed for cowardice. The men are not cowards. The stated reason for the trail of innocent men is to make them a warning for the rest of the soldiers. In actuality, the trial is a vehicle for the superior officers to keep from losing face.

General Mireau (George MacReady) is looking for another feather in his cap and proposes a stupid frontal attack as a means of establishing glory. The lives (and deaths) of the men in the trenches are meaningless to him outside of how they can be leveraged for his personal gain. The resulting court martial of the selected men is nothing more than a kangaroo court. Through the story we witness a brutality honest look at the wages of war and the abuse of power.

Douglas’ performance of a man of conviction drowning in a vat of lies is reason enough to see this film. Douglas’ stern performance combined with Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant film making give the film a depth that is entrancing. From the scenes in the trenches to the nervous moments of the condemned soldiers as they wait for their fate in a dirty prison cell, every moment of this film brims with a haunting realism.

MacReady also provides a full performance as the power hungry leader Mireau. He conjures a quick posture that is quite frightening upon reflection. It is completely believable that this man would be so willing to casually cause the deaths of hundreds for his own pride.

While not being Kubrick’s most visually stunning film, it is one of his tightest works. I believe it may be his most meaningful film, which is saying something considering the master filmmaker’s resume. Where Full Metal Jacket had hints of the absurd, this film is deadly serious and expresses an anti-war sentiment that is not anti-soldier. This film is more Saving Private Ryan than Platoon in that regard. We ask our men and women to do terrible things in our name and their work doesn’t stop after they make it back home “safe”. We ask for them to sometimes give up their lives, even when those lives aren’t taken in battle. From lingering injuries of the mind and body, we ask them to sacrifice everything and then suffer in silence. This film is a reminder that war is the unleashing nihilism in the hearts of our soldiers. It is about more than just pride and politics, it is about killing other people. That comes with a deep cost to those involved. That’s a clear fact that is always lost to those of us not getting shot at.


Related Reviews:
War movies
Saints & Soldiers (2003)
Flyboys (2006)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Celluloid Heroes
Roger Ebert


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Labels: film, Kirk Douglas, movie, Stanley Kubrick, war