Stolz der Nation

Rating: 1/10 (31 January 2015)

"American Sniper" is basically equivalent to "Stolz der Nation", the fictional Nazi propaganda film directed by Alois von Eichberg in Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds". That was a masterful film, full of moral ambiguity, character development, and other such devices one would look for in a thoughtful, intelligent piece of art. This one, however, is completely bereft of any redeeming quality whatsoever.
It's certain to be divisive for political reasons, but leaving politics aside and judging it purely from a filmmaking perspective, this is a wreck of Kursk proportions. There's a scene where a convoy of Humvees are attacked. One smashes into an Iraqi car, and the viewer can see considerable damage occur to the front of the Hummer. Jump cut to the next shot, and the front end is good as new. Clint Eastwood by now could be considered a bit of a veteran; how then could a film rife with errors in continuity and other fundamentals be nominated by the Academy if not for truly insidious reasons owing nothing whatsoever to do with the film's quality? By the by: The trial of Eddie Ray Routh just so happens to commence next month, only a few short weeks after this film's release.
In truth, it makes me ashamed to be an American, if indeed Chris Kyle is the quintessential American Mr. Eastwood would like each of us to aspire to be. I shudder to think that's something anyone would aspire to and that this deplorable rubbish might be seen as representative of us in the slightest. Then again, this is a film directed by a man that talks to empty chairs about a man that lies about punching former professional wrestlers turned governors and murdering his own compatriots with pride. Maybe we shouldn't take it so seriously.