A Powerful Film with a Difficult Question

Rating: 8/10 (26 August 2016)

"Saving Private Ryan" is, more or less, a character study, not of only one person, but of U.S. philosophy. Why send a squad to find one guy and send him home? The premise is that the mother had already lost 3 of her 4 sons to the War (World War II, or the Great Patriotic War), and that she should not be expected to lose her 4th and final son to the War. She had lost 75% of her children, and shouldn't have to lose 100% of her children.
However, what about the mother who watches her only child go off to war? If he dies, she already lost 100% of her children to war. It's an issue that comes up many times in the film, and we get to see every man in the squad fight with this issue in his own mind during the film.
The "Private Ryan" character (Matt Damon) fights with this issue too. He's already been designated as an object of hatred and contempt by the entire squad, before they even meet him. He understands that the mission is both justified and ludicrous, at the same time. He didn't ask to be "rescued", and he doesn't want to be rescued, but he seems to understand why he should be rescued. He represents the feeling that the USA shouldn't lose all of its children to the War.
The main characters are a brilliant mix...
The captain, who is fulfilling his duty to his country in its time of need.
The sergeant... a crusty old lifetime war veteran... the kind of guy who actually eats MREs because he likes the taste.
The sniper... a soldier who feels that his God gave him an amazing gift, specifically for the purpose of defeating the German army.
The Jew... who joined the army specifically to fight against the anti-Jewish Nazis.
The "Tough Guy"... an almost Mafia-like character from New York City, who has no problem with getting in the face of his Sergeant, and even his Captain.
The "Good Guy"... who initially seems like a Tough Guy, but ends up being a soft-hearted guy who royally screws up by trying to save the life of a little girl in a war zone, at an inopportune moment.
I didn't really care for Giovanni Ribisi's character in the film. The character just didn't seem realistic to me. However, the rest of the cast is a total Home Run.
The film does a great job of capturing the horrors and realism of first-person warfare, and the story is awesome, too. Surely, one of Spielberg's finest films.