Tom W.
2007-09-30 15:33:15
Last night I watched the French film “A Very Long Engagement” (2003). I highly recommend it. World War I story, with amazing battle sequences.
Although the ending was a tad anemic, the movie as a whole had a unique, imaginative take on the old “war is bad.” Imagine “Saving Private Ryan” with humor, genuine emotion instead of schmaltz, no gaseous score, and no sledgehammer moralizing to pound your aching head.
One thing the Euroweenies do better than us is war films. Theirs tend to lack the self-consciousness and callowness of ours. Europeans understand that low-key is often the best way to depict horror.
Here, we ram home our messages with all the subtlety of Hugo Chavez bloviating at the UN.
Unnecessary. People are smarter than that.
