War, humans and dehumanizing

Rating: 7/10 (26 April 2016)

"Paths of Glory" talks about war, about what humans do in war, how power has an important part into who survives, who dies, and why, and how unfair, unjust, and horrible war is and how unfair, unjust and horrible a culture of war makes humans.
Douglas's Dax and his men are sent on a suicide mission to take an enemy position. They have to retreat as they can't get to their objective, but their superiors are not very happy about it and decide to bring some of the soldiers to a military tribunal, accused of cowardice. If found guilty, the will be killed.
The movie offers a not very nice view of power and war, of how the ones that are on parties and eating nice food send the poor to fight and die, as no more and no less than expendable pawns. It shows how Dax and his men are dehumanized by their superiors, and how these superiors behave like spoiled children when things don't go their way. All very patriarchal, with even a dialogue where a superior talks to Dax in these exact terms: a superior is to soldiers as a father to children. Is patriarchy guilty of violence?
The acting is OK, a little bit of overacting typical to the era, and a couple of too long sequences. But the story is good, the direction sound and all the actors give their best. If that was not good enough, the script has some stellar moments for Douglas, with very good writing.
A good war movie, to remind us that war, what is it good for?
And to whom?