Well Made But Not A Lot Of Action

Rating: 6/10 (23 June 2013)

In December 1944 German soldiers shot 80 American POWs during the Ardennes offensive at Melmedy in Belgium . In terms of murder this was relatively minuscule compared to the crimes committed by the Nazi regime but it was widely quoted at the time because it gave the Western allies the impression the Germans weren't taking any prisoners during this offensive . It should also be remembered the Western allies hadn't come across the numerous Nazi camps on German soil such as Belsen and Dachau . On a similar note and with hindsight it's not just the victors who write history but also Hollywood and the Malmedy massacre has featured occasionally in Hollywood movies with SAINTS AND SOLDIERS being one of them
The massacre at Malmedy sets up the story where four survivors escape the mass murder and find themselves on the run behind enemy lines . Made in 2003 you get the distinct impression this was produced to cash in on the massive success of BAND OF BROTHERS , That said SAINTS AND SOLDIERS holds up in its own right though are some flaws
As a Briton what will rankle with a lot of compatriots is that a British pilot Flt Sgt Oberon Winley is introduced to the story who is an American-centric caricature of the British . First of all if someone in the RAF was a flight sergeant they would have been working class . Only pilot officers and very posh people would be called Oberon . It's also painfully obvious that the posh upper class character is played by someone who is obviously an American actor . It's nice to see an American film acknowledge that the Yanks didn't win the war single handed but couldn't the producers have contacted British Equity ? Mind you half of Easy company were played by British actors in BAND OF BROTHERS so I suppose the serve is returned
Something that might disappoint a lot of people is the fact that there is very little in the film . After the massacre in the start of SAINTS AND SOLDIERS two thirds of the film is taken up by the characters hiding from the Germans with characters talking to one another . It is somewhat refreshing to see a war film that doesn't concern itself with spectacle and incident but anyone tuning in to see bloody big battles will be seriously disappointed since this is a more thoughtful war film