Good and Important Story

Rating: 7/10 (21 May 2014)

This is based upon a true story
In 1943 President Roosevelt ordered a team of curators, and historians to join the US Army and they became known as The Monuments Men. Their task was to find and secure art treasures in Germany and countries under German control and return them to the rightful owners. The Nazis accumulated all this treasure to fill the Hilter Museum in Hitler's hometown in Austria. Hitler used mine shafts, coffins, German officer estates and various castles to hide the treasures until his museum was ready. However, when the war was deemed lost Hitler decried that all art treasures should go to German museums. There is another theory on this: Hitler wanted all the treasures destroyed. And, we do see some of that in here.
This movie seems like it's made up for entertainment purposes, but this was a real happening. This also seems somewhat disjointed but keep in mind that Frank Stokes (George Clooney) sent out several teams to distant places to look for the treasures. By doing this we don't really get to see the real nitty-gritty of the findings in any great detail because time is of the essence. So we see bits and pieces. The main item looked for was the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo, and Jan Van Eck's Ghent Alterpiece. But, the bouncing around from team to team didn't help keep us attentive except for some humor between Bill Murray as Richard Campbell and Bob Balaban as Preston Savitz. And, then we also see another comedy team of John Goodman as Walter Garfield and Jean Dujardin as Jean Claude Clermont. The humor with both of these teams was on the down-lo. And, rightly so.
The only story of note is James Granger's (Matt Damon) interaction with Claire Simone (Kate Blanchett) a French woman who collaborated with the Nazis. She knew where Hilter sent all the treasures and kept records of the rightful owners, We hang with Granger as he tries to convince Claire that the US government will return the treasures to the rightful owners. She doesn't believe him and is a tough room to put it mildly.
We don't see much of George Clooney in here as he also directed this movie. And, because we see George Clooney's name in lights and we run to the show. George Clooney should talk to Clint Eastwood about acting and directing in the same movie. This really needed a command post that juggled all the goings-on with the teams. Didn't happen. Yes, communication wasn't as it is today. Still
The only real drama occurs when the war is over and the Russians are seen advancing to the last place the Monuments Men are finishing up. And, here we are fighting the clock as the very last item isn't in the truck and the Russians are closing in. If the Russians get there in time, they get to keep the treasures. Those were the rules. Such excitement! I could hardly contain myself. Long story short: the Americans did leave behind something of note for the Russians. Can you guess what is was?
Now, we don't know if the names that made up The Monuments Men that we see in here were real or not as there was no acknowledgment of them at the end of the movie. Or maybe that was an oversight. When the credits run, we do see black and white photos of some original Monuments Men and the treasures they secured. Neat.
There is no mention of any monument to these men, who by the way, numbered close to 400. By my reasoning, there should be something set up in Washington, D.C. This is an important story that tells of these brave Monuments Men who were heroes and saved thousands of works of art and they should be recognized as such. To be honest, I never knew this happened and was glad it did and the story is finally told even if somewhat dis-jointed. Everyone should be aware of the Monuments Men and what they did for the world.
If you are interested in more information go to Wikipedia. (7/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.