American Sniper and Monument's Men: Then and Now

George Clooney's Monuments Men, the story of Allied efforts to preserve centuries of great art from falling into Nazi hands during The Second World War, generally flopped with audiences last year. With all the heightened rhetoric surrounding American Sniper, Monuments Men takes on something of a new meaning.

Many wrote off Monuments Men as creaky and old fashioned. The trailer, with Bill Murray and John Goodman in the cast, promised a sort of Ghostbusters type WWII adventure. Instead, the tame PG rated script hinged on a plot to . . . save art . . not necessarily a recipe for box office gold.

While I wish Clooney had given his cast more to do, it never gets boring.  When Clooney recruits Matt Damon to join his mission they seem really relaxed, it felt more like Ocean's 11 in the ETO- not necessarily a bad approach for a throwback war movie.

I'm sure Clooney grew up watching movies like The Great Escape and The Train featuring a diverse group of people who share ideals and come together to stop the Nazis. Monument's Men never loses sight of what was at stake in the war: the survival of democracy and free thought. 

Meanwhile, American Sniper depicts cold blooded soldiers fighting for a vague cause under a problematic pretext.

Chris Kyle, a legendary solider known for tallying the most kills in Iraq, does his job with a remarkable efficiency. He referred to the Iraqis as savages.  Bradley Cooper's performance brings honesty and depth.  Sienna Miller gives a good performance as his wife, but she's often reduced to acting in front of a phone.

For all its merits as a motion picture, American Sniper takes great pains to avoid the politics of the war in Iraq.  Vague references are made to fighting the terrorists in the Middle East in order to prevent them from hitting America again.  The silence over the politics says more about our time than anything else.

After viewing American Sniper, a quote from Herman Wouk's WWII novel War and Remembrance floated through my head, "Either war is finished, or we are."  

As the 20th Century came to a close and the threat of nuclear war receded, the world breathed a sigh of relief.  Then 9/11 happened. Suddenly the future history of the 21st century loomed as one of never ending conflict.  The post 9/11 political situation echoed what Yeats wrote in "The Second Coming", "the best lack all conviction/while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Thus we get the world of American Sniper.

The films I most admired, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory, even Apocalypse Now ridiculed the very idea of war.  American Sniper suggests a future where war is the norm. And that is tragic. 

At least Monuments Men reminded us some some things are worth fighting for.  American Sniper depicts never ending imperialistic wars, conflicts in which the few bear the burden, while political opposition to them amounts to disloyalty, if not treason in the eyes of some. Eastwood's potent war film asks us to consider to such a world and points the finger directly at you.

Two Days, One Night (2014) ***

The 2014 Belgian film, 2 Days, One Night, starring Marion Cotillard (Sandra) tells the simple story of a woman trying to save her job.  She is a married working mother with two kids.  On a Saturday morning she's informed her fellow employees at a welding company voted to remove her so they can receive a bonus of 1000 Euros.  Now, Sandra has a weekend to convince her co-workers to change their minds.

2 Days, One Night provides a view of the modern middle/working class in Europe.  I'll confess ignorance to the state of the labor movement in Europe.  In America, the movement has faced serious setbacks over the past forty years.  The idea of solidarity among workers seems to have diminished.  The film suggests the same may be happening in Europe.  As portrayed in 2 Days, One Night, the company's managerial situation is a quasi- partnership between owners and workers. I'm sure some of the cultural nuance went over my head.  

The film opens with Sandra getting the bad news.  Her husband convinces her to set out and meet with each co-worker to change their mind.  So she sets out to sway them.  Her attempts at friendly persuasion meet with mixed results.  Some are compassionate and agree to forego their bonus, while others treat her with a quiet disdain and refuse to help.  We can understand their side as well:  One father says he needs the bonus to pay for his daughter's tuition.  Others have more selfish reasons. The story's conflict points to a compelling ethical dilemma:  How far does one go to help their neighbor in need?

And what does it feel like to be a person asking for help?  Asking for help is never easy. Sandra questions herself repeatedly as the movie unfolds.  We learn she's struggled with depression and her marriage could be in trouble.  At times she's about to give up, but finds the strength to keep going. Directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne never resort to sentimentality to ratchet up the tension, instead the camera follows Sandra as if you're watching a documentary. Small, naturalistic moments carry the film.

Cotillard is familiar to American audiences with plum roles in Public Enemies and The Dark Knight Rises.  As Sandra, she gives a realistic performance full of vulnerability and quiet courage.  The performance has earned her a well deserved Oscar nomination.  2 Days, One Night is an underdog story made with precision and care, rooted in realism. Well worth checking out.

Locke ***

Locke takes place entirely in a car.  In a swift 84 minutes, we follow Locke, played by Tom Hardy, as he takes phone calls and navigates the English highway.  He's a successful engineer with a loving family. He's about to begin a major project. Unfortunately, Locke's night of reckoning has arrived due to one major mistake he made. Now he's in an impossible situation.  As a study of the everyman in crisis, Locke stands out as one of the unique achievements of 2014.

Hardy does a great job in a demanding role. Subtle gestures tell us he's a decent man desperately trying to hold his life together.  On a stressful car ride to London, he takes a non-stop flurry of phone calls from his family and co-workers.  The tension never lets up.  

Some may dismiss Locke as a radio play disguised as a film.  Granted, Locke would make for a great radio play.  But the virtuoso cinematography of Haris Zambarloukos creates atmosphere, movement, and the isolation of driving alone. There's not a dull moment.

Many great films work well within enclosed spaces such as My Dinner With Andre and 12 Angry Men.  Spielberg's Duel also comes to mind, the one where the motorist is pursued by an evil truck driver.  Locke inverts the scenario as the protagonist must resolve an internal conflict.  Highly recommended.  

Selma ***

Selma finally provides a realistic portrait of Martin Luther King on the big screen. Unfortunately most Hollywood films, as they do with most historical figures, tend to provide a vapid caricature.  Centered the around the passing of the Voting Rights Act, Selma has strong focus and narrative drive.  David Oyelowo captures King's ability to inspire others around him with his quiet strength.  As a depiction of the Civil Rights Movement, Selma rightly keeps the focus on people, black and white, who decided to take action against the injustice going on around them. Tom Wilkinson as LBJ is a full fledged Machiavellian.  Director  Ava DuVerna has the cinematic eye of Spielberg when it comes to pathos, meaning the small, quiet moments carry just as much emotional punch as the larger ones.

Inherent Vice: A Unique, Often Brilliant, End of 60s Epic ****

While The Big Lebowski will never lose it's cult status as an ode to slackerdom, I'll suggest Inherent Vice offers something more. Based on the 2009 Thomas Pynchon novel, Inherent Vice takes us back to Los Angeles in 1970.  With Nixon in the White House and the nation in paranoid shock after Manson family atrocities in California and the Kent St. killings in Ohio, Inherent Vice pinpoints a turning point in the culture.  Beneath the often hilarious slapstick humor, few modern actors do a pratfall better than Joaquin Phoenix, there's also a surreal melancholy in every scene.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Larry "Doc" Sportello, a private eye who enjoys getting high and clashing with the LA PD. The film begins with Doc alone at his apartment watching TV. His old girlfriend Shasta (Katherine Waterson) shows up, and like Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon, leads Doc on a journey into, to quote Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, "the savage heart of the American dream."  Throughout the film, Doc uncovers conspiracies encased within conspiracies, a tripped out shaggy dog story.

Noteworthy performances abound.  Katherine Waterson brings mystery and allure as Shasta.  Josh Brolin plays a psychotic, but comical police detective.  Martin Short takes a wild turn as a Dr. Feelgood dentist. Owen Wilson adds humanity as a paranoid Jazz musician. The entire cast did a fantastic job with Pynchon's unique dialogue. 

Anderson's direction feels more restrained and less stylized than his previous films.  At 148 minutes, Inherent Vice moves along at a leisurely pace.  While each scene is connected to the grand narrative of the story, each one also works as a vignette, like songs on your favorite rock album.  I'd even compare the pacing to Tarantino's Jackie Brown (now a great companion piece to Once Upon A Time in Hollywood).

Film allusions aside, Inherent Vice exists in a unique cinematic universe of its own.  A sense of time and place comes across in every shot.  For example, the imagery amusingly reinforces the tension between the "straight world" and the counterculture. Doc understands the world makes no sense, or at least the version of the world the establishment wants to uphold. The sense of defiance and defeat is palpable. 

I'll need to view Inherent Vice a few more times and I'm sure with each one my appreciation will grow.  While the plot's complicated and confusing at times, it's not incoherent. A dull moment never occurs.  We now have a great triple feature on the legacy of the 60s: Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the Coen Brothers The Big Lebowski, and Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice.

The Deer Hunter **** (1978)

The Deer Hunter (dir. MIchael Cimino 1978) follows the lives of three men from a small Pennsylvania town before, during, and after the Vietnam War. They work the night shift at the local steel mill.  After work they drink beer, watch football, sometimes go deer hunting.  The film begins as one of them’s about to marry.  Released 36 years ago, The Deer Hunter remains one of the finest examples of American cinema of any era with its authentic locations, outstanding acting and direction, and Vilmos Zsigmond’s beautiful cinematography.

Each act centers around a ritual: a wedding, a deadly match of Russian Roulette, and a funeral.

Written and directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro (Michael), Christopher Walken (Nick), John Savage (Steven), Meryl Streep (Linda), and John Cazale (Stan),  The Deer Hunter earned the Best Picture Oscar in 1978.  The film also won Oscars for Best Director, Sound, Editing, as well as a Best Supporting Actor recognition to Christopher Walken.  

Like The Godfather, The Deer Hunter opens with an extended wedding sequence, illustrating how the Russian/Eastern European population of Pennsylvania acknowledge their old world heritage, while at the same time embrace America in a cinematic portrait of assimilation. From the perspective of 2015, the sense of a lost America seems even more striking.  The iron and steel industry forged the nation's backbone which sustained communities for decades has virtually disappeared.

Foreshadowing comes in flourishes during the wedding.  Nick seems unsure about their decision enlist, while Michael seems ok with it.  During the the reception Michael and Nick encounter a soldier at the bar on leave from Vietnam.  The soldier sits there like a sphinx. Michael tries to prod him about Vietnam’s like, but he reacts with disgust to their enthusiasm. He has endured too much to be put into words, something both Michael and Nick will tragically realize in time.

The film then shifts to Vietnam where Michael, Nick, Steven are captives of the Vietcong.  In a cringe inducing sequence they are forced to play a deadly game of Russian Roulette.  The sequence remains difficult to endure and controversial for its portrayal of Asians.  Many question if American troops were ever put through such an ordeal by their captors (most likely not).  However, as a metaphor of war, the scene works.  The act of going to war is like a game of Russian Roulette.  You might survive or get killed.  There’s no way of knowing.  The scene assaults the audience with the stark reality of war. Cimino went for metaphor instead of realistic depictions. 

The final act follows Michael when he returns home, where he learns Stephen lost both of his legs and Nick has gone MIA.  He begins a relationship with Nick’s fiancee Linda out of desperation.  While his friends want the good times to keep rolling like before, Michael realizes things will never be the same.  In a beautifully shot scene possibly modeled on The Wanderer Above the Sea painting by Caspar David Friedrich,  he comes upon a deer and aims to shoot, but pulls the gun away at the last moment, realizing he no longer wants to kill, choosing life over death.

Later, Michael returns to Vietnam to locate Nick.  He arrives in April 1975 as South Vietnam's about to fall.  He discovers Nick has gained a reputation in the Saigon underworld for playing Russian Roulette.  Michael confronts him, but Nick appears to have no memory of his former life.  Once again, Cimino asks the audience to suspend reality.  How could Nick have survived years of playing Russian Roulette?  How could Michael return to Saigon during such a chaotic time?  All I can say is sometimes the magic of cinema can even prevail over logic when the conditions are right.  Nick’s character arc plays like a Greek tragedy and symbolized what the war did to many American soldiers.

The final scene reunites all the characters after Nick’s funeral.  In their grief, they begin singing "God Bless America."  In the DVD commentary, Zsigmond recalls pleading with Cimeno to change the ending because it felt way too sentimental, almost laughable.  Cimeno replied, "the actors will make it work."  Cimino was right.  Roger Ebert said it best in his review,  "the lyrics of "God Bless America” have never seemed to me to contain such an infinity of possible meanings, some tragic, some unspeakably sad, some few still defiantly hopeful."

The entire cast had a magical chemistry.  John Cazale steals every scene he’s in as the loudmouth Stan.   Chuck Aspergen (Axel) a non actor who De Niro befriended while doing research in Pennsylvania, adds a presence.  Meryl Streep brought compassion and a quiet strength to the movie. De Niro carries the film in the lead role.  Both Walken and Savage exude a tragic lost innocence.

I would consider The Deer Hunter not so much a film about Vietnam, but a film about what Vietnam did to America.  Many films which came later dealt with the realities of the war such as Platoon or the PBS Series, Vietnam: A Television History.  

The war's legacy continues to divide Americans.  For some, the era left them cynical and skeptical about America’s future, while others held on even tighter to the old fashioned patriotism.  The Reagan campaign of 1980 capitalized upon the need to reboot the old values and pop culture followed right along in the new zeitgeist.  Films in the 1980s restaged the Vietnam War with a far more satisfying outcome.  The Deer Hunter ages well because of it’s ambivalent politics and bold attempt to make sense of a tragedy.

The Deer Hunter wears its heart on its sleeve and that's ok. An epic story with evolving characters and small moments - a classic

The Hobbit: Battle of the the Five Armies ***1/2

Peter Jackson's final installment to the Hobbit trilogy ends the saga on a thrilling note. The story picks up with Bilbo Baggins and company preparing to defend Middle Earth from an army of darkness.  The entirety of the film revolves around the battle, providing a strong narrative focus.  CGI effects are ideally suited for the fantasy genre and they are used to amazing effect in Battle of the Five Armies.  Many fantasy stories involve large scale battles which would be way too expensive to film with real actors - so I'm big fan of CGI when used to its full potential.  As the characters meet their fates the themes of heroism and sacrifice have an emotional resonance. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) journey from mild mannered hobbit to brave defender for good perfectly encapsulates the hero's journey.  Jackson also tied up all the loose ends to bring the entire six film saga to bring all the elements full circle.  All of Jackson's fantasy films hark back to the silent movie tradition - using moving pictures to present a spectacle on the big screen. Battle of Five Armies keeps the tradition alive and well.  Cecil B. DeMille would be proud.