War Ain't fun

Rating: Null/10 (12 January 2004)

I've read enough of the comments on this film to know that they run the gamut from praiseworthy to apocriphal to derogatory. I'll go for the first one. I know this film isn't meant to be historically accurate, or even based on an actual event. The only truths are Normandy, the tone of the fighting, the region of the fighting, and the equipment and tactics. There was no real Pvt. James Francis Ryan with three brothers killed. But there was a Nyland family, four boys, three of whom were killed in WWII and one survivor, who was brought home. This is the basis for this movie, but since Nyland's homecoming was less than dramatic, Spielberg needed a bit more punch, And oh, Lordy, did he give it to us! I've seen hundreds of war films, from the sterling 'Gettysburg,' to the appalling 'Pearl Harbor' and all in between. But SPR is a truly realistic film. It does a splendid job of bringing the viewer into the horrible and frightening arena of modern foot combat, with the sounds, sights and fears experienced by the men who slugged it out in the fields, towns and hedgerows of Normandy in 1944. I'm not a veteran, but a lot of my friends are, and not one of them has been able to watch this movie without deep, profound emotions. One Vietnam veteran commented to me, after we walked, our eyes blinking in the bright sunlight outside the theater, "God, I never thought combat could ever be done on film the way it really was." He's right, God Rest his soul, now that he's gone to be with his buddies in Valhalla. The only thing missing in this film is the smell and taste, of mud, dirt, gunpowder, blood, sweat and tears. This movie makes you hate the cruel randomness of battle, the men who you've come to like, (Capt. Miller, Pvt. Jackson, Sgt. Horvath), and the ones you hate, (Cpl. Upham, the German who went back to fight) being killed in stunning moments and passing into memory like lightning flashes. The impact of bullets, the CRUMP! of mortars and artillery, the ear-ringing echo of near-misses, are all realistically shown. In a theater, I found myself ducking instinctively from whickering Mauser bullets whining past my head. I left the movie exhausted, emotionally drained, and deeply moved. And with even more respect for what Peter Jennings called 'The Greatest Generation.' Well, done, Spielberg, and well done, GIs.