Differing Points of View

Rating: Null/10 (24 October 1998)

I have been reading some of the comments posted within the IMDb, and I am not surprised to see a line drawn in the sand. Many of my American compatriots have declared this movie to be amazing, moving, and eye-opening. On the other side of the pond, we get comments like, "I hated it. This is nowhere near to be called 'The Greatest War Movie Ever Made'" This all depends on where you grew up. In the United States, during the Time of War, WWII did not happen to us. We went to fight an injustice on another shore, in another world from where we were. Our fathers, brothers and sons were dying for something that indirectly affected us. So, in order to make it palpable for American viewpoints, the Hollywood machines glossed over it, glamourized it, and made it bland. For years we were fed this malarkey about the glory of war, how "Our Boys went over and blah blah blah". This the first "true" representation of what our men did in this most unholy of campaigns. It pulls no punches, all the shades are pulled up, the veil is lifted. We, in this idyllic bubble had no earthly idea. We did not see first-hand the aftermath, the tears, the rebuilding. That all happened "Over There". According to our myths, we went in, kicked butt, left, and became a world power. That's it. No one ever talked about it, except while waving an American Flag. To one of the many who believed the half-truth, it was not just a sock in the jaw, but a punch in the stomach as well, the kind that knocks the wind out of you. For what it's worth, this has been a long time coming. We saw the inhumanness of it all. Some of my European brothers have complained that this portrayed the Germans in a bad light. That maybe so, but for once the bad light has surrounded our viewpoint as well. We are not the "saviours of the world" that we thought were. This is the truth we were shielded from "for our own good" as it were. The truth hurts, and now 50 years too late, we can finally weep with you as members of the same family. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg, for showing us the way.