The absurdity of war

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2006)

I think I am speaking for most women when I say that war movies are not my favorite genre. However, this is not your typical war movie. It is a fascinating character study of the madness of the men who have chosen, and are devoted to military life. It shows the impact of their decisions on the lives of the men and women who get swept up into their dustbin of insanity. Sir David Lean, the director, grew up in a Quaker family, which I believe helps to explain his perspective in this film and others of his.
As so many others have mentioned, the performances are wonderful. Even though I am not a big fan of Alec Guinness because I feel that he has a tendency to overact, I do agree that this is perhaps his best performance. I think this is largely due to David Lean's direction. He understood that an epic should be character driven.
I believe Lean to be the master of the epic, not merely because of his cinematographic genius, and his wonderful use of music, but because he realized the importance of closely focusing on his main characters. A good epic has to be about more than beautiful vistas and haunting music. We have to care about and be interested in the people involved. He knew how to pull all of these elements together.
The movie is best seen on a large screen in order to do justice to the cinematography and sheer scope of this film. A film treasure!