An Extraordinary Achievement

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 1999)

Usually war films don`t appeal to me, but Steven Spielberg's latest hype-drenced film, "Saving Private Ryan", did look like a remarkable film, so I watched it. I have to say, from beginning to end, I could not take my eyes off the film for one second, it was absolutely compelling, almost in a a surreal way. I have never seen such a film as this one, Steven Spielberg triumphantly proved to the world once again after "Schindler's List", just what a phenomenal director he is, it totally baffled me how he could of crafted such a physically and emotionally complicated with virtual flawlessness. There are two major battle scenes , one in the beginning and one in the end, and they are both extremely harrowing. The first one burns with unflinching realism, you almost feel like you`re right there with the soldiers instead of watching them on a screen. It shows just how terrifying the war really was, every form of anihilation and destruction is captured on film. The second one is a bit more sombre, mainly because the audience has gotten to known the main characters, and after witnessing some of their deaths, our feelings and sympathy and sorrow are evoked. The performances given by Tom Hanks, Ed Burns, and the rest of "the crew" (Forgot their names, but are all enormously talented) are all exceptional. They all have diverse personalities, but when they put in serious situations, we powerfully sense their shared emotions of instinct, terror, longing and grief. "Saving Private Ryan"'s power comes mainly from it`s clear moral, as it proves just how tragic the war really was, and the devastating impact it had on the world and humanity. The story may be fictitious, but the movie still enables us to have a pretty good idea of the savage violence that rampaged the earth during the wars, all while asking the ulimate question; Was there any reason AT ALL why this had to happen? It was a question that lingered in my mind for days afterwards. "Saving Private Ryan" is a truly extraordinary film.