Paths of Anti-War

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2015)

Paths of Glory is one of those films that really makes you hate war and everything that comes with it. It's a great film that perfectly portrays the many horrors that go along with war. But it doesn't just address the bloodiness and violence, it looks at the psychological imbalance that it gives people during an awful period of time. World War I wasn't perhaps as terrible as the second World War, but it still was a gruesome time for several countries.
What I think Kubrick nailed the most about this film was the displaying the vast differences between the colonels and generals personalities to the horrific mindsets that the soldiers have going into a battle. Really, the whole plot of the film is quite ridiculous, but this type of stuff very well may have happened. The film captured the utter loudness that battles create, and even leaves out the music when it needs to. I love a good score but I liked that the battles weren't filled with a bombastic score, rather just the sounds of explosions. I didn't know much about the film, so I was shocked at first to find out it was more than just an epic war film. It was more a look at the trials of innocent men and the sort of dehumanization of them. Kubrick does it well in his later films but his approach to Paths of Glory proved to be different. He implements more emotion and sadness to his characters. This is all evident in the famous final scene, which is probably my favorite of the entire film.
So yes the film does become more of a courtroom drama than I expected, but it's a different kind of war film that works. It's a film that deals much more with the political side of war than the battles. But in reality both sides of war are equally as devastating. Especially when you have a story as brutal and emotionally draining as Paths of Glory.
+Imbalance of psychological viewpoints
+Music hits when it needs to
+Kubrick's meticulous directing
+Emotional
8.0/10