☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½
Paths
of Glory (1957) – S. Kubrick
The film somehow feels like a blend
between a Kirk Douglas personal project (with its leftist anti-war sentiment
and crusading role for Kirk) and a Kubrick film (with its intensely
art-directed shots and set-ups). It also switches between grubby WWI trenches
where soldiers get shell-shocked and the posh Versailles-like palace where the
generals talk. The plot takes the form
of a classic morality play (and could have been scripted for the stage, except
for the graphic realism on the battlefield) but, unlike in those works that
feature heavy moral choices that create extreme tension, the right way to act
is clear here. The generals are wrong in
their decisions to: a) order the regiment
to leave the trenches to try to take an impossible-to-take German position; b) hold
a court-martial to try three “randomly selected” men for cowardice in the face
of the enemy; c) offer no mercy when the pre-ordained verdict is death. Kirk is both the commanding officer
immediately beneath the most unfair general and the self-appointed defense
attorney for the men. He fights in vain
against a wayward and biased system that shines a light on just how absurd and
brutal warfare is (especially in that it allows some to pursue selfish
aggrandizement at the expense of others).
One could argue that the absurdity has even been magnified and increased
in these days of drone-attacks and high-tech combat. Bottom line:
war is sickening.
No comments:
Post a Comment