Saints and Soldiers (2003)

Battle of the Bulge war drama. Four American soldiers try to help a British soldier carrying vital information back to Allied lines. 

Corbin Allred is compelling as the shellshocked, sleep-deprived soldier kept going by faith alone. What makes the film more intriguing is learning that it was funded (and even acted) by members of the Church of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. the Mormons) in order to put across their message. Impressively, it does this without that message becoming overbearing. Plus, the basic idea that belief in God will help you through dire situations doesn’t tie it to any one religion. It could just as well be promoting Catholicism or C of E Christianity. 

Two things reduce the impact a little. Firstly, the excessive use of colour filters becomes distracting – especially when the greyish tones turn to a sepia shade and then back again. Secondly, the Englishman (awkwardly played by an American, Kirby Heyborne) has a silly accent and his slightly shifty, antagonistic manner is never explained. Why not give him a personality that they (and we, the audience) could relate to?

Those points aside, there’s plenty of dramatic tension and the character development between the four main soldiers is entirely believable. The winter storms look convincingly cold and the bleak, barely survivable conditions are expertly evoked.

No comments:

Post a Comment