Dunkirk (2017)

This truly is a masterpiece. It is not your typical war film. It does not tread on your emotions. It is not bloody. There is no climactic battle. You never see the enemy. You never see the loved ones on the home front. It is pure war, intense drama.  It is fully immersive. I am now traumatized by that ticking soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (the fan in Morgan's room was making the exact same sound). I saw it in glorious IMAX on 70mm film. Christopher Nolan is the savior of film. Film is somehow old school and also the future of theatrical experiences. The picture was so clear. You could see every face. You wallow in the expanse of the sea and the beach. The cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema is stunning, especially in the aerial scenes. The scenes on the boat were not filmed in IMAX. You can see the ratio is different. It doesn't fill the top and bottom of the screen. But I want to say that the picture looked not necessarily sharper but more vivid and real.

Remember, this is a Christopher Nolan film. Nothing is straight. So we follow three different non-linear narratives. The Mole (the beach) story takes place over a week. The Sea story takes place over a day. And The Air story takes place over an hour. The film cuts back and forth between the narratives without telling the audience what takes place when. You see some scenes in the darkness of night intercut with daytime scenes. You see the boat in the background of the plane scene, watching an event that hasn't yet happened in the Sea story. This is all just brilliant editing and storytelling.

Dunkirk is a point of pride for British people. It was a lost battle, an utter defeat, but a successful retreat. America had not yet entered the war. And that is why American's don't really know what happened at Dunkirk. The focus of the film is strictly on the British. The Germans are never named. The French are not shown, controversially. The Indians are not shown, controversially. But that's not the point. The point here is that Dunkirk is a British success story. This is about British pride. And you never lose focus of that.

Patton (1970)

The Strategic Studies Club screened Patton for the obvious reasons, but it is such a sprawling epic that there were only four of us left in the end. Patton is a film about a complicated man. I kind of drew some parallels with Lawrence of Arabia, another film about a crazy (I think Patton was further along the crazy scale--he thinks he was reborn as all the great generals) historical war figure who dies in an automobile accident. George C. Scott really embodies the character in all his eccentricities. We go inside him and try to understand how he craves war. And by the end, we kind of get it. That iconic opening monologue in front of the American flag is really telling. It is an introduction to the man and the myth that is fully developed over the next three hours with unflinching reality.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

I wouldn't really say I'm a fan of Mel Gibson and he hasn't really done anything particularly noteworthy in a while. I wasn't expecting much but this movie is his return to form. He went back to what he knows, war movies. The battle scene is very long and the violence is quite gratuitous but all in all the choreography is actually really well done. There is a constant intensity. Is it a little over the top? Sure. But war is over the top, isn't it? There were a couple of scenes that just didn't work. At one point, you see warships that bomb the ridge. And in this day and age, the warships should not have looked so fake. The CGI and special effects in that scene were not up to date. Secondly, the inevitable seppuku scene was unnecessary and in poor taste. We got the idea already, we didn't need to see it.

Andrew Garfield is quite good. His southern accent sounds a little off, but it is charming nonetheless. The first half of the movie perhaps bangs on the bible too much for my taste, but that is the whole point. Garfield plays a conscientious objector (for religious reasons) who volunteers for the army anyways. The film presents an ethical dilemma that is genuinely thought provoking. The movie is emotional in all the right places. The star of the movie, however, is Vince Vaughn. I think he is hilarious in everything he does, and a war movie is no exception. He is an interesting and brilliant (kind of provocative) choice to cast as the army sergeant, providing some comic relief to an otherwise unfunny situation. 

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

It would be an understatement to say that I didn't understand this movie. I was not sure what was going on for most of the movie. There is a scene featuring Masha that inexplicably adds nothing to the plot--plus it's kind of creepy.  Not to mention that the movie is super slow. That being said, there is a pretty powerful anti-war message. War steals childhood and innocence away from the young. It is unapologetic. There is an amazing shot of Ivan framed by sharp, broken timber beams. In class, Professor Moss showed us a video of a compilation of shots from The Revenant that are seemingly modeled after Tarkovsky's movies. And for the record, I said the same thing before she showed us that video. I saw that shot of the flowing river and immediately thought of The Revenant. 

Unbroken (2014)

Louis Zamperini had quite an incredible life. There are three phases in the movie that represent very different parts of his life. And it doesn't even get into his PTSD after returning home. The first phase plays out like a typical sports movie. It follows a young boy who goes into sport as a means to keep himself out of trouble and he runs all the way to the Olympics. The second phase is a lot like All Is Lost with talking. And the third phase is pure war from inside a POW camp. I think the movie tried to squeeze in a little too much. I feel like I would've gotten the same story without the track story line.

Miyavi plays the Japanese corporal in charge of the POW camp. He is devilishly cruel and has a look that inspires fear. There is a scene in which he implores Zamperini  to "Look at me!" and I couldn't help but think of Captain Phillips. The aerial fighting scene in the beginning is well done and it provides a good introduction to the war half of the story. 

Beasts of No Nation (2015)

This film is notable for being Netflix's first foray into original fiction films. And it is an excellent first go.  The director of the first season of True Detective helms this movie and adds his personal touch.  Many of the shots are reminiscent of the dizzying panoramic and birds-eye shots from True Detective.  He paints a vicious, uncompromising portrait of the toll of war.  The acting is also exceptional.  Idris Elba plays the warlord Commandant who leads an army of child soldiers in an unnamed African country.   He nails the accent, and he plays the father figure to these orphaned children. But the star is the young Abraham Attah who plays Agu.  The movie explores the damaging psychological effects of war on child soldiers.  One of the most devastating scenes is one in which the children have difficulty adjusting from the only thing they know: war. Attah is this season's Quvenzhane Wallis--young, fierce, gritty, and starring in a movie that coincidentally also features the word "beasts."  Attah is less likely to get an Oscar nomination, but he is deserving of any acting award he can get attention for.

The Rape of Europa (2006)

The Rape of Europa is an engaging documentary that unfolds like a drama. It was very interesting to watch after having seen The Woman in Gold and The Monuments Men.  But the story about Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer is only a small part of the film.  The film is very comprehensive, spanning from before WWII to the present day, and covering many different perspectives--American, German, Italian, Russian, French, Polish, etc.  As a consequence, the film features interviewees speaking all different languages.  Aside from an interesting look at history, the film affirms the importance of art and culture to our humanity.  It explains and rationalizes the painstaking care taken to preserve Europe's treasures amidst a deadly war characterized by destructive firebombs. And it praises the efforts of those lovers of art who protected these cultural icons so we could continue to admire them today.

The Killing Fields (1984)

The Killing Fields is a term coined by Dith Pran to describe the mass grave sites in Cambodia that he trekked through in his escape from the Khmer Rouge regime.  Pran is played by Haing Ngor, a doctor, who is one of only two non-professional actors to win acting Oscars (the other is Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives).  This movie tells about the experience of journalists in Cambodia in the run-up-to and during the Khmer Rouge regime.  It details the deterioration of civilized life and the terrible labor camps that were part of the Year Zero policy.  What is most devastating is the persecution of educated people like Pran, and the subsequent necessity to hide their skills.  The movie is suspenseful, tear-jerking, and brutally stares war right in the face.  

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Waltz with Bashir is one of the most powerful war films I've ever seen.  This has really stayed with me.  The style of animation is reminiscent of a graphic novel.  The artists take some freedoms with color and size to alter our perception of reality.  And after watching some special features, I appreciate how incredibly difficult it was to animate these images piece by little piece.  It's really quite beautiful despite the heavy subject matter.  War is grotesque but there is also a side of beauty.

Ari Folman explores his memories and his dreams to discover the truth about the 1982 Lebanon War, which he participated in as an Israeli soldier.  Despite the use of drawn images, this is a documentary film.  Folman conducts interviews with his fellow soldiers and his friends to try to reconstruct a truthful picture of the past and attempt to resolve his lingering guilt.  This film recounts the experience of Israeli soldiers, and asks the audience to empathize with their pain.  At the very end of the film, this is all put into proportion asking the audience to contemplate the pain of the victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.  This is a breathtaking movie--a must see.

Days of Glory (Indigenes) (2006)

This movie follows the formula of a typical war movie, except the main characters are North African soldiers, a minority group in the narrative of WWII but a large integral presence whose contributions have been marginalized.  The premise is similar to "Glory," the Civil War movie about an all-black regiment that faces discrimination. The title even evokes "Glory." Upon doing further research, I learned that the title actually refers to La Marsaillaise, the French national anthem.  The movie asks fundamental questions about Algerian identity--do they feel a part of the French society that has done them wrong?  The title suggests that not only do they identify with France, but that they are willing to die for the French cause. However, this sentiment is not constant in the film, but constantly questioned. And there might not be one right answer, for there are highly conflicting emotions.  Each of the main characters has a different motive, background, and view.  This gives the viewer a sense of the range of people and ideas that were present.  And, of course, though WWII was a separate event, this must be taken in context with the Algerian war of independence that followed the war, which would greatly complicated French-Algerian relations.  Finally, the movie had a political motive that is made apparent in the very last scene--to bring awareness to the North African veterans who had their pensions frozen in 1959.  The film succeeded to an extent, though no money that would have been paid in the forty year gap was considered.  On a side note, I greatly appreciated the use of North African-style music in the score.  

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

As far as epic films go, this is the most epic of them all.  The ambitious scale of every aspect of this film is so enormously grand (including the length running nearly 4 hours), and it plays extremely well on 35mm film on the big screen.  You get a real sense of the expanse of the unforgiving and treacherous desert. Many shots show a tiny figure on the horizon or in a small corner with the rest of the screen is disproportionate amounts of sky and sand.  From start to finish, this is a visually stunning movie, capturing WWI-era Middle East, from the small port of Aqaba on the sea, to grand streets of Cairo.

More so than a film about the Arab revolt, this is really a character portrait of an enigmatic, complicated man.  There are times when his humanity is questioned, when his invincible God-complex takes over, and still others when the audience sees right through it to his ordinary core. Lawrence develops on both sides of the spectrum, presenting a nuanced story of a man affected by war.  In some ways, Lawrence can be compared to American Sniper, another portrait of a legendary war hero.  But Lawrence is more thoughtful about the effects of killing on the mind and politics of war.  Peter O'Toole gives a masterful performance, transforming emotionally and mentally and embracing the Arabian dress rather nicely to play Lawrence.

The Imitation Game (2014)

Benedict Cumberbatch is so good as the eccentric British hero Alan Turing.  His stutters and mannerisms convince the audience that he is playing a true genius.  After doing a little research on Turing, I appreciate the little details included in his characterization that I otherwise would have ignored (For example, he was an avid runner in real life).  Turing was not the only person facing discrimination; Keira Knightley's Joan Clarke is a fellow outcast whom Turing befriends.  Knightley leads a fabulous supporting cast working in ultra secrecy during WWII.  Praise to the production design team for depicting the reality of wartime Britain.

This story is an important one that needs to be told to recognize these war heroes' massive achievement in computing history.  There were some parts in the subplots that went by so quickly that I failed to understand what happened.  As I later read, the subplots are partially fictitious.  The screenplay does a good job of strategically tracing three key periods of his life to highlight his closeted homosexuality without undermining the central war part of the story. The movie also attempts to explain Turing's famous Imitation Game and some of the mechanics behind his decoder.  Perhaps the ideas are too difficult for the common audience to understand, but I think we could have benefited from a little more detail about how the machine actually worked. 

Lone Survivor (2013)

Mark Wahlberg's war drama shows a mission gone wrong in Afghanistan.   This is a profile of modern warfare,  which is strikingly different from traditional war.   To be totally honest,  the setup seemed a little slow,  but such is modern war in which you must be patient.  Once the action starts,  it is unrelenting--fitting for such a brutal war.

The character development is a bit weak.   Why do we care about what happens to these characters?  Because they are servicemen who sacrifice their lives.  Their bravery and courage is inherent.   The opening sequence gives us a general sense of comradery and brotherhood.   We can characterize them stereotypically by what we know about the military,  but we don't really get to know any of these characters as individuals,  not even Mark Wahlberg's protagonist.

     

The Pianist (2002)

As a classical pianist myself, Roman Polanski's depiction of a Jewish musician struggling to survive through the Holocaust really resonated me.  The film prominently features Chopin's Ballade No. 1, a favorite of mine that I have performed in the past.  Adrien Brody plays (or pretends to play) the piece, along with other pieces by the Polish virtuoso, convincingly.

I would like to compare this film with The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, the Oscar-winning documentary short.  The documentary depicts the beauty of music amid the horrors of the Holocaust.  It was music that helped the victims persevere.  The Pianist, historically accurate, is based on Wladyslaw Szpilman's autobiography.  On the contrary, he hides in quiet, denied the healing power of music even when he sits right in front of a piano.  When he plays for the patrons of a cafe, his music is ignored.  The movie is heartbreakingly powerful--but don't mistaken it for a movie about music, it is a movie about a musician, a survivor.