Astounding

Rating: 10/10 (16 October 2006)

The first 30 minutes of this movie are perhaps the most compelling 30 minutes of cinema ever filmed.
The chaos of war, the moral decisions made and not made, the bravery of those under fire on *both* sides... all is here.
As the plot continues, you see more moral ambiguity, and more moral certainty. War *is* hell, and that is clearly seen here.
Tom Hanks gives his best performance (just ahead of Philadelphia), and all of the featured players perform more than admirably.
I do need to give a shout-out to the Translator. He is the one in this piece who I can most closely identify with... an intellectual forced by his own convictions to join the war effort, but struggling with the realities of the war. I fully understand his fear, and his strength.