A divider of film viewers

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2002)

I have discovered something about this film. People who do like it are most often people who 'knows good film when they see it' and people who don't are likely 'people who enjoys a good mainstream Arnold action film friday night'. I know, this might be an elite kind of bulls**t, but this film is in my narrow view a really a good divider.
Ok: People think they are going to see an ordinary war film. After about an hour they discover they don't. I think this is how a war move should be - you get a real description of the context, not just the "We were soldiers", "Hamburger Hill" sort of 'I like bombs and people who scream MEDIC!" films. The first hour is amazing, it really sets the caracters. You have to not only look to what happens, you have to really take in each scene, and try to smell the smells and see the different lights of this Russian breed Pennsylvania ensemble (we have the same kind of small country industrial towns in Sweden too). The last hour is the one you always want to see in war movies: what happened afterwards? The middle hour is really good as well, even though I read some vets found it unrealistic. So be it. That's not the point of the movie.
Ok. See the film, not with friends but alone, on DVD or cinema in one take, and you'll be really moved, I promise. War is hell, not Arnold-fun. .pp