The Monuments Men (DVD REVIEW)
The
Monuments Men
DVD Review by Kam Williams
WWII Saga Revisits Secret Mission to Retrieve Masterpieces Stolen by Nazis
Most people are
probably unaware that while Hitler was sweeping across Europe
during World War II, he simultaneously directed his army to plunder any
priceless works of art found in the course of its pillaging. For, believe it or
not, the cultural rape of the beleaguered continent was all a part of the
Fuhrer’s diabolical plan which not only included conquest and ethnic cleansing
but turning his Austrian hometown into the cultural capital of the Third Reich.
Consequently,
millions of artifacts were looted from museums, churches and private
collections and transported to subterranean sites such as salt mines where
they’d be safe from aerial attacks. However, the madman’s demented scheme also
called for the destruction of any treasures he deemed degenerate if they
conflicted with his propaganda campaign touting Germany’s racial purity and
manifest destiny.
So, towards the
end of the war, when the Allies caught wind of what was afoot, they assembled a
team
of curators, archivists and art historians whose
stated mission was to retrieve and preserve as many of the stolen items as
possible. With time of the essence, the seven experts started scouring
the ravaged countryside in search of missing masterpieces.
That urgent
effort is the subject of The Monuments Men, a bittersweet adventure directed by
George Clooney. This tragicomic account of the crack platoon’s heroics is very loosely-based on Robert Edsel’s
relatively-sober best seller of the same name, a meticulously-researched,
512-page opus encyclopedic in scope.
The film
adaptation, which understandably conflates events and characters as a
concession to the cinematic formula, was essentially designed with the masses
in mind. Clooney, who stars as Frank Stokes, surrounded himself with a talented
cast
capable of convincingly executing with perfect aplomb a script which tends to
veer back and forth recklessly between suspense and gallows humor.
His A-list ensemble features fellow
Academy Award-winners Matt Damon (for Good Will Hunting), Cate Blanchett (for
The Aviator) and Jean Dujardin (for The Artist), and nominees Bill Murray (for
Lost in Translation) and Bob Balaban (for Gosford Park), as well as John
Goodman and Hugh Bonneville. Given the palpable chemistry generated by their
characters’ camaraderie, it’s a little sad that they don’t all survive the
perilous trek behind enemy lines.
A history lesson about an obscure
chapter of World War II successfully turned into entertaining Hollywood
fare.
Very Good (3 stars)
Rated
PG-13 for violence and smoking
In
English, French, German and Russian with subtitles
Running
time: 118 minutes
Distributor:
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD
Extras: George Clooney’s Mission;
and Marshalling the Troops.
To
see a trailer for The Monuments Men, visit:
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