Eye opening and heart warming

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2014)

Occasionally a film comes along, based on a true story, that really opens your eyes. That's what The Monuments Men did for me. I was aware that the Nazis had stolen artwork during WWII but I wasn't aware of the scale of what they had done.
George Clooney was obviously moved by the story as he wrote this screenplay, directed and produced the movie and acted in it.
Looking every bit the 50s movie idol George leads a great cast including John Goodman, Matt Damon and Bill Murray. For a war story it has a very light touch. The story is told in small vignettes of the bigger tale. This is a little disjointed and possibly gives the idea that finding the stolen art was a fairly simple task but there are some wonderful scenes which allow me to forgive the minor flaws here. The shower scene with Bill Murray is very moving and the scale of some of the sets is breath-taking. There is some amazing scenery and the art dept must have been stretched on this one.
I felt moved, entertained and educated when I came away from the cinema. Overall, a really good film. Worth a look.
Just so you know, the film carries a warning - "Contains violence, details of bloody injuries and scenes of smoking". Seriously, that's what it said at the beginning.