Funny, intelligent, not for everyone

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2006)

MASH, a war satire by Robert Altman is hugely creative, funny, and true. It portraits the madness of war, and all the ways to stay sane by going crazy. The leading character, played by Donald Sutherland, is very cool and always calm and laid back, though not in your usual way. He delivers his lines perfectly, and you can never figure if he's actually mad. But, as any Altman, this has a huge lot of characters, in this case, mad. Some are total freaks, others people under a lot of pressure, and others just plain stupid. There's Hot Lips (hilarious Sally Kellerman, on the verge of a breakdown), who stars in some of the funniest scenes, Frank Burns ( Robert Duvall playing a catholic pervert), Painless Pole (John Schuck, a dentist who tries to commit suicide when he "finds out" he's gay) and a huge list of original (to say the least) characters. The improvisations wok and make the characters much more realistic.
The direction is effective; it begins in a documentary style and becomes studied with each shot in the right place. I loved the rugby game, with all the fast, full of energy shots, it mad me laugh so much, and, at the same time, feel uncomfortable. It showed just the attitude of wars. I'd like to mention, too, the song Suicide is Painless, and the cinematography, that felt wet and dirty, just like it should.
The last thing I want to mention is that I didn't find this sexist at all; it was seen by men's point of view, and Hot Lips character is quite accurate. Besides, all the man were idiots, too.
It's a movie that movie buffs have to see; it's a funny comedy, thought provoking, intelligent and that didn't lose any of its actuality. Pretty great 9/10