Fell a bit short for me, but worth seeing

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2005)

I'm glad I took advantage of the opportunity to see this film on cable TV, but I wish I had seen it letterboxed. The cinematography was quite good and I'm sure it lost quite a bit in the pan-and-scan version.
This is a heartfelt film and a well-made one in many ways, but overall I found it rather tiring and melodramatic with some strong and memorable scenes here and there. Much has been said about the battle scenes being similar to the ones in "Saving Private Ryan." That in itself is OK, but -- although I'm not a huge fan of that film -- I thought SPR's battle scenes were more focused and involving. In this film, the mayhem just felt relentless and mind-numbing, which, I suppose, is what it can feel like when you're in a war. But for me it had a distancing effect after a while -- I simply got tired of the film. I also felt that the emotions were pitched too high and that the film could have benefited from more subtle writing and performances. For me, the most moving moments were the framing scenes at the beginning and end involving one of the characters as an old man. Those scenes had a quiet gravity that was missing elsewhere.
Besides the echoes of "Saving Private Ryan," I also felt the director was influenced by American war movies like "Platoon" and "The Deer Hunter." Again, all movies are influenced by earlier ones, but the fact that I was thinking about this while watching the film is an indication that I wasn't very involved in the plot or characters.
All in all, though, it was interesting to see a movie about a part of history that's mostly been ignored in films. And despite its shortcomings, the movie does at times capture the utter folly and sadness of war. I wish I could have liked it more overall, but maybe I'll give the letterboxed version another try someday.