Saving Private Ryan, written by Robert Rodat,
directed by Steven Spielberg
A different
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is one
of the best and most popular movies ever made.
It is at
number 28 on the IMDB list of most popular films:
it has won
five Academy Awards, been nominated for others and won multiple prestigious
prizes around the world.
The film is
also on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made List:
the story
is overwhelming and believable: the many dead, the horrible violence, bravery
and cowardice have been real.
It is also
an interesting angle, with the Saving of Private Ryan at the forefront, but
with the background of the World War II.
The cast is
formidable:
-
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore,
Paul Giamatti- one of my favorites, Ted Danson- an outstanding professional,
Dennis Farina- very likeable and good, Bryan Cranston- Breaking Good in a brief
role, Vin Diesel- somebody I do not care much for and so many other excellent
actors…
And the
director is Steven Spielberg, showing here that he can create anything and he
really is one of the best…
The introduction
is gruesome, but one of the best entries there ever was, with the invasion of
Normandy.
June 6th,
1944 as it was, with many soldiers killed, acts of bravery but also the dark
side of war that involved murder.
In one
scene, some American soldiers advance towards Germans that evidently want to
surrender, with hands up.
The “good
guys” keep shouting to their enemies and these answer in…German, but it is not
good enough and they are killed.
Unjustified
and to make matters worse, if that is even possible, the murders mock their
victims with…”look, we cleaned ourselves for dinner.
Captain Miller
aka Tom hanks is witnessing this and so many other outrageous deaths, violence
throughout the film.
He used to
be a teacher of English in his civilian life, but he now has to cope with
attempts at desertion and mainly… the Nazis.
The mother
of Private Ryan has to receive three letters of condolences, for three of her
sons killed in battle.
When they
notice this, officials in the Army decide to try and Save the only remaining
son, given that this mother has had enough sacrifice in the family.
So they
send a team, led by Captain Miller, to extract Private Ryan and send him home
from the front.
It is not
just a difficult task, for on the way soldiers are killed- and spoiler alerts
are not needed for that, because it makes sense, doesn’t it? - and at times all
hell breaks loose, with acts of heroism and cowardice.
I thought
that the take on this war was extraordinary in that it showed real life and
what happens, not the fairy tales that are made up
At one
point, one member of the team is really scared and as a consequence he cannot
even move from the spot where he is.
If he did,
he could save the life of one of his mates, engaged in a life or death struggle
with the enemy.
But this
anti-hero sits there on the steps leading to where his fellow soldier was
giving his life for country and freedom.
And the
audience can realize that this is a different film, for in other takes, heroes
simply destroy the enemy.
Our side is
better, always ready to shoot and kill, fly from danger and always shooting
down the enemy tank or plane.
In this
magnificent film we learn that it does not always work that way and heroes
fight alongside ordinary men…
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu