A war film not rooted in any one historical moment.

Rating: 9/10 (10 February 2008)

Every serious war movie is in a large sense the same. It shows the horrible things that happen during it. From the combat out in the bloody battlefield to the war each man fights in his own head. Every serious movie is in a large sense different. It shows those horrible things from a different angle. In 'Paths of Glory' the view point is that of Colonel Dax, a respected officer in the French trenches of the First World War. His latest orders are to take a German position only a couple hundred meters beyond his own trench and hold it until reinforcements arrive.
The interesting thing is that General Mireau who orders the attack is fueled mainly by ego. Colonel Dax is driven more by strategic logic and what it means for the lives of his battle tired soldiers. A great scene is when Gen. Mireau lays out his plan to Col. Dax. He proudly walks through the rugged trenches, scolding men who appear cowardly ("There's no such thing as shell shock.") and ignoring wounded soldiers, but instead looking toward his objective. In this same scene Dax is clearly momentarily by the passing of some of his men who have torn limbs and faces. It is a scenes that lasts for about a minute, but it sets up the rest of the film brilliantly. Mireau's ego and Dax's loyalty to his men. But the shades of character aren't nearly that black and white. Dax is clearly driven to achieving the General's intended objective, but through the smoke and roar of the battlefield he somehow sees the futility of the matter and is later shocked when Mireau orders a court martial for cowardice from Dax's regiment.
As an older war film the special effects and battle scenes are quite tame by today's standards (especially after a film like 'Saving Private Ryan') but the examination of the military mind is positively fascinating. World War One is often viewed as a useless war and the issues at hand "could have been settled at a table and not a battlefield" is a quote that I remember from one of my high school history teachers. This is a war film that is not rooted in a particular historical moment, but it will remain relevant as long as there is a such a thing as war. --- 9/10
Not Rated, has violence. Ages 7+