A Great Cinematic Experience

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2010)

www. ourfilmreviews.com
With classics like "Dr. Strangelove," "2001: A Space Odyssey," and "A Clockwork Orange," Stanley Kubrick was long ago canonized as a filmmaker of the highest skill and intelligence. One of his greatest skills is not allowing his films to be watched passively. He forces his viewers to respond both emotionally and intellectually. "Dr. Strangelove" does so with its black, disturbing humor and its comical treatment of one of modern man's most penetrating fears: nuclear warfare. "2001" does so by immersing us in its sweeping visuals as it follows mankind from the dawn of time to a place beyond time. "A Clockwork Orange" does so by forcing us to confront the inescapable violence and evil inherent in human nature and society's casual indifference and at times subtle encouragement of such. "Paths of Glory" is Kubrick's first masterpiece and while it is often forgotten in comparison to the three films mentioned above, it is just as compelling as any film he or anyone else has ever made.
The film's running time is only 87 minutes, yet it is deeper artistically than most films that carry on past the 120-minute mark. The reason for this shows Kubrick's superiority as a filmmaker. Every scene and piece of dialog is instrumental in forming the film as whole. Nothing is wasted. Every aspect of the film coalesces with every other aspect. This is seen in the coming together of the overall narrative of the French army's suicidal mission and the storyline of two individual soldiers within the army. Before the failed attack on Anthill, three men embark on a reconnaissance mission to scope out the territory. The subordinate officer, Paris, witnesses his commanding officer, Lt Roget, accidentally kill the other soldier. After the failed attack on Anthill, when the commanding officers are forced to pick one man from their troop to be tried at the tribunal, Lt. Roget chooses Paris, in an attempt at silencing the one man who knows his secret. But after Paris, along with the two other soldiers, are condemned to be shot, guess who Col Dax assigns to lead the execution? Roget.
Roget cannot hide from his guilt. He is forced to face it. When he asks Paris if he wants a blindfold for the execution, he cannot look him in the eye and asks for forgiveness. It is a powerful moment. This smaller narrative of Roget and Paris is interwoven then with the greater narrative. A lesser filmmaker might have had the Roget and Paris subplot remain a subplot with its own separate conclusion. The Kubrick, the conclusion of Paris and Roget is wedded to and made more powerful by the larger narrative.
Roget needs to be forgiven by the only one who knows his secret. His guilt is genuine and his desire for redemption private. Roget's private guilt is contrasted by General Broulard's complete obliviousness to the blame he deserves (taking the Anthill was his idea to begin with) and his desire to set things right only in the eyes of the public. He does so by telling General Mireau that he will be investigated for misconduct. After Dax tells Broulard of Mireau's order to fire on the battalion, Broulard must investigate Mireau not out of any sense of justice, but because Dax threatens to go public with the information. Boulard offers Dax Mireau's position, implying that Dax revealed Mireau's misconduct only to further his own career. Dax is outraged that Broulard is incapable of comprehending the injustice and his indignation. Thus, the one who is most responsible for the failed attack and the numerous deaths is also the one who has the power to blame and punish others for his failure.
The scene of Dax's indignant outburst against Broulard shows the nature of true evil. Mireau may have ordered his own army to shoot at the battalion and he may have vehemently argued for the battalion's execution, but he was acting on a set of principles, albeit a very twisted set or principles, but principles non the less. Broulard has no principles, only a desire to elude blame and preserve his own appearance and position of power and respect. This is the truer, more subtle evil.
Kubrick's screenplay and direction and Douglas's perfect performance make Dax's indignation our own. The injustice is painfully felt. We understand so clearly that these soldiers would have died if they left the trenches and are condemned to die for not leaving them. As we see the three condemned soldiers walk to their execution in a wonderful and classically Kubrickian tracking shot, we realize that the only two options these soldiers had were to die by the bullets of their enemies or by the bullets of their own countrymen. Either way, bullets will pierce their flesh. The nature of war makes living impossible
The movie ends with one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in any film. In a tavern full of rowdy French soldiers, a German girl is brought on stage to be mocked for the entertainment of the soldiers. She is ridiculed because of her sex and nationality. Terrified, she begins to quietly sing a song in German. The whistling and hollering of the soldiers slowly abates and we see in their faces a look of such anguish, regret and sadness. A few of them wipe tears off their faces. Not knowing the words or the language, they begin to hum the song with the German girl. They are reminded of their humanity and it hurts. After showing us the darkest side of humanity, Kubrick ends his film with this scene of hope. Even in the midst of a war, these soldiers are capable of overcoming their brutishness and acknowledging their own humanity and that of the opposing nation. Kubrick allows us to see the entire range of what humanity is capable of, from the cruelest of injustices to the most beautiful of moments