Less a Film Than a Flattering, But Pallid Simulation

Rating: 3/10 (4 May 2000)

With all of Hollywood at his disposal Spielberg has no excuse for his own mediocrity as a film maker. This "simulation" fails for the same reason that it is possible. Viewers leave the theaters believing that they understand war, what it was like to be there, and that they have seen a "realistic" portrait of war. Saving Private Ryan makes war comfortable and knowable even in its supposed gritty action. If anything, Spielberg's method suggests a realistic portrayal of what it was like to fantasize about the war while remaining on the homefront... thus in his footage of the landing scene, Spielberg consciously imitates newsreel footage which was viewed back home rather than as it was seen on the beaches. It is a style of film making which believes that the truth is in the details, but the end result is a lifeless mannequin with no soul or inner truth. Saving Private Ryan is much like the photographic snapshot, which however more "realistic" never conveys the deeper meaning and realism of a painting. Although perhaps a deserving pat on the back for a generation which faced something truly awful, in the end I believe Speilberg has done veterans a disservice by flattering millions into believing they understand what it was like to be there (or how else could so many non-veterans talk of the "realism"?