Comments | baleanoptera: war cinema

baleanoptera

war cinema

Oct 23, 2008 21:46

Despite the insane workload I do love my current situation. The best thing is that I have an excellent excuse to watch movies. The worst part is that I have to watch movies. Particularly war movies. And if you’ve suspected that there are a lot of bad war films out there then I can assure you that this suspicion is correct ( Read more... )

war film, being possibly insane, wwii

Comments 12

alexandral October 24 2008, 09:05:49 UTC

Sadly I haven't seen any of these films. I felt quite cold about "Saving Private Ryan" , may be because of the logical way of thinking that quite often "pops up" into my brain when I watch something that so clearly appeals to my emotions. The best part of the film is the first 15 minutes but after that it becomes too emotionally manipulative for me (as so many other Spielberg works are).

I was always recommended "Thin Red Line" as "this is just like Saving Private Ryan" so I never got to watch it. :D

Out of the recent war films I really quite liked "Letters from Iwo Jima" . I also liked "Enemy at the gates" (which was particular interesting for me because of the perfect way Jude Law lives his character).

I think I have recommended this one before - "Come and See" is a my "this is the face of the war" film ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/ ) . Very hard to watch, set in Belarus.

baleanoptera October 24 2008, 10:23:54 UTC

The best part of the film is the first 15 minutes but after that it becomes too emotionally manipulative for meOh I quite agree. After the Omaha scene the rest of the film feels a bit like its checking of war film tropes, complete with the medic that talks about home, and then is killed in the next scene. (never talk nostalgically about your home in war films, as it will only make you sympathetic to the audience and therefore suitable to be killed with the greatest amount of emotional impact. ;P ( ... )

baleanoptera October 24 2008, 10:33:06 UTC

Oh, and I just found this quote by critic Michael O'Sullivan that I really liked:
"The Thin Red Line is a movie about creation growing out of destruction, about love where you'd least expect to find it and about angels - especially the fallen kind - who just happen to be men."

because that just captures the beauty and the oddness of the film for me.

alexandral October 30 2008, 16:32:54 UTC

I got me hooked here. :d I must find "Thin Red Line".