"Earn this." That means all of us

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 1998)

As I have read the many reviews of "Saving Private Ryan," I've noticed, particularly from the more "serious" publications, that "serious" critics insist on separating the bulk of the film from its bookend scenes of Ryan at the Normandy cemetery. Those scenes, I've read several times, are "false," "ham-handed," or "manipulative." They could not be more wrong.
These scenes, which begin and end with an American flag shining in the sun, illustrate the gap between the generation of men who crossed through Hell on Earth so that the sun would continue to shine on this country and its liberties, and the succeeding generations who, perhaps, have failed to fully appreciate the debt they owe and the honor due those men who defeated Nazi Germany and Fascist Japan.
In the opening, we see an old veteran, walking alone, his wife trailing him, and trailing her, the children and grandchildren. We see the son, acting more like a tourist, whose emotional distance from his father is shown by the intrusive clicking and winding of his camera. Yet, we also see the entire family rushing to his side as he collapses in grief, wanting desperately to comfort him in some way.
At the end, we realize that the old man is Ryan, which is perhaps the only flaw in this otherwise magnificent film. For this conflicts with the implication from the beginning when the camera zooms toward the old man's eyes to what seem to be his memories of Omaha Beach. If Ryan dropped behind German lines with the 101st Airborne Division, how could he remember what happened on the beach? After some thought, I figured that Rieben, the one survivor of Omaha Beach in Captain Miller's squad, might well have told Ryan as they made their way back to HQ all that those men who found Ryan went through.
Some critics have been particularly critical of the last scene, with Ryan imploring his wife to reassure him that has, indeed, "earned" what Miller's squad did for him. I think the scene has far more depth than its critics have given it credit for, particularly in light of an earlier scene.
Recall the lull between the Americans' defense preparations in "Roumel" and the final street battle with SS troops, when Miller (Tom Hanks) and Ryan (Matt Damon) come to know each other a little better in a conversation that cannot help but be disconcerting to Miller.
Remarking on Miller's teaching occupation, Ryan jokes that he could never be a teacher himself, having driven his teachers crazy. "You're just like a thousand kids I've seen," Miller says, probably remembering when he said to Sgt. Horvath, "This Ryan had better cure cancer or invent a longer lasting light bulb."
That Ryan doesn't seem particularly special is only reinforced when the only clear memory Ryan can dredge from his brain about his brothers is a prank which embarrassed the oldest brother, humiliated a half-naked girl, nearly destroyed the family barn, and shows too clearly that Ryan, for all his incipient nobility in refusing to abandon his brothers in arms, is still a male adolescent for whom the line between humor and cruelty is rather blurred. This makes Miller's tight grin and diplomatic chuckle all the more poignant.
As the years passed, I would imagine that Ryan would remember that conversation, and as he matured, realized how superficial he must have seemed to the older Miller, who died that Ryan might live. We can only guess how heavy it would have weighed on Ryan that he could not show Miller the life he had lived since then, and could not finally know whether he had "earned" Miller's gift. I fail to see anything resembling a "false note" here.
To the rest of us, the cross with Miller's name, followed by Old Glory in the bright sun speaks to us in two ways. It illustrates at what a price our freedom and well-being have been bought. And with the colors absorbed by the sunlight, thus giving the flag a faded look, it places at our feet Miller's charge to Ryan that he "earn this" with equal urgency. Whether we have earned or squandered this legacy is the question that every person watching "Saving Private Ryan" should take to heart.
Finally, a personal note. In 1994, My wife, my son and I had the pleasure of meeting a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Div. When he left for France to participate in the paratrooper reenactment, we shook hands, and I told him how honored I was to have met him. "You're a good man, and you have a beautiful family," he replied. Given the source, I cannot remember ever receiving a higher compliment. A false note? Of course not. And neither is the ending of "Saving Private Ryan."