I don't often do this, especially with older films I have seen many times. But today I feel compelled since yesterday was Memorial Day and I took in a viewing of perhaps the best war movie of a generation.
Saving Private Ryan.
For those who have seen it, and let's be honest, you should have by now - it begins with one of the most harrowing scenes in motion picture history. The morning landings at Normandy - June 6, 1944. I know of veterans who chose to leave the theater during this because it was so authentic - they simply could not handle its realism. It's a testament to Spielberg that he chose to portray it in this manner. War is not glamorous, nor is it a thing to be sought out. It is a terrible, awful thing that unfortunately at this point in history - was a necessary thing.
The cast is perfect. Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies are all brilliant. Every single one.
This is a war film where several combat engagements occur, but what makes this a near perfect film are the "in between" scenes that carry as much weight as any bullet or bomb.
A few of these I will discuss below...
A slow overhead zoom in shot of the beach post assault as it closes in on the name - Ryan, S. - on a backpack of a dead soldier on the beach. We go to a typists office where the death notices are being prepared for the families of the deceased. A close-up of a woman's face as she gasps momentarily. We discover here that all of the Ryan brothers have been killed and this is brought to the attention of George Marshall. When prompted to forget the 'foolhardy' mission of sending a team to find Private Ryan, Marshall reads an eloquent letter of condolence to a Mrs. Bixby of Boston, after which he calmly states:
"That boy is alive. We are gonna send somebody to find him. And we are gonna get him the Hell... outta there."
An early scene that emphasizes Marshall's feelings on the matter is when Ryan's mother notices the Army car coming down her driveway back home. She looks up and knows this isn't good. When she sees the pastor from her porch, it absolutely nails me every time.
So off they go...
The next scene, much later after the loss of one of their own and with Miller's soldiers threatening to leave the mission, he reveals to them that he is a school teacher. One particular speech sticks with me:
"You know if going to Rumelle and finding him so that he can go home. If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then that's my mission. You want to leave? You want to go off and fight the war? All right. All right. I won't stop you. I'll even put in the paperwork. I just know that every man I kill the farther away from home I feel."
No one leaves.
Much later as Captain Miller asks Ryan about his brothers, Ryan tells him of the last night they were all together before the oldest shipped off to training. Upon finishing, Ryan asks Miller to tell him about "his wife back home and those rose bushes" alluding to Miller's "something specific" when he attempts to think of home. But Miller refuses, simply stating...
"No, no that one I save just for me."
The fourth and final scene is at the very end. Old Ryan stands among the gravestones at Normandy, directly in front of Captain Miller's final resting place. To it, he says:
"My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me."
He stands and salutes. It is one of the most heart wrenching scenes in any movie of my lifetime.
John Williams conducts a beautiful, subtle score as the American Flag waves in the afternoon sunlight. Perfection.
5 out of 5 Khans. The best war movie ever made.
1 comment:
You're never going to speak to me again, but I still haven't seen this one. I need to change that.
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