Rhymes With Jury ...

Rating: 7/10 (24 October 2014)

... which is still out as I write this. Clearly writer-director has either no concept of or else no respect for Back Story, for he gives us a leading who is American and 1) fluent in German and 2) has a pathological hatred of Germans to the extent that he practically orgasms each time he kills one - or, in most cases - several. At one point he speaks of killing Germans in North Africa, Italy, France, Belgium and now - it is April, 1945 - in Germany itself. This makes it reasonable to assume he either enlisted or was conscripted around January, 1942 and thus has been a US soldier for roughly three and a half years; it would not be too difficult for a reasonably intelligent person to acquire SOME German in that amount of time and under those circumstances but not to become fluent. The character is not depicted as someone intellectually gifted or even someone who has been to college so we must assume German parentage or at least a fairly strong German connection. In the same way a soldier who has spent three and a half years in active combat will have presumably seen several comrades killed in action and may well develop an intense dislike of the enemy but again this would likely draw the line at pathological hatred. Four of the five-man crew of the tank have been together since North Africa yet none of the others displays the same hatred. In addition these men are Americans not English and the Germans never invaded or bombed America. It would be much more logical and credible for an American serviceman to hate the Japanese who actually destroyed the US fleet in a cowardly and clandestine attack than the Germans. These cavils to one side the film is well made and well acted with even a clumsy attempt to show another side of the lead character. At one point this man and his assistant driver enter a house inhabited by two nubile German women (albeit one is played by a Roumanian actress). The commander encourages his assistant and the younger of the girls to take themselves off into the bedroom and in response to the raised eyebrows of the older girl he says 'they are young, and alive'. He makes no attempt to molest the older girl and when, some time later, the other three members of the tank crew turn up and clearly intend to rape one or both of the girls he makes it clear they will answer to him if they do so. Ayers seems to be saying that 1) war is essentially pointless - in April, 1945 the war was, to all intents and purposes, over, with one month to go, yet instead of throwing in the towel and losing gracefully, the remnants of the German army fight on as though there was still everything to play for - and 2) that war is not only brutal but it also brutalises those who take part in it. Chances are both things are true but we have, Mr. Ayers, known that for some time now.