The Monuments Men
I saw the film 'The Monuments Men' last week and as I’d begun writing a story some years ago based on the doings of one of these men I thought I would find out if I had, according to my reading, got it right and whether George Clooney, again according to my reading, had got it right.
As it turned out, it was it was, in fact a simple goodies and baddies film of the sort Hollywood has been churning out since the twenties. The wicked Nazis were intent on destroying all their looted art while the virtuous American curators (they got rid of the token Brit early on) in uniform tried to stop them. It didn’t exactly reach the level of knockabout farce - which would have shown some level of skill – but it was a near thing. If we can imagine Dad’s Army with American accents put into a Kelly’s Heroes situation then the general atmosphere is set up.
Yet perhaps I’m maligning Kelly’s Heroes, which is not my intention. Now that film was a satire on the flower-power pacifism of the sixties, when it was made, transposed to the intensely bellicose forties. It worked. 'The Monuments Men' is different. I'm not even going to mention the anomalies and anachronisms as licence can be taken on occasions to make a dramatic impact, if the film is worth it. But with this one....I think it reached its nadir when the American flag was hung up at the entrance to the salt mine in which the art works had been stored to indicate to the nasty Red Army that the goods had gone. And then, the sight of Neuschwanstein Castle added to the Disney element although, ironically enough, this castle was used for art storage .
In a way, the film reminded me of the Saturday afternoon children’s cinema where we would end up throwing lollipop sticks at the screen if the film was not up to our standards. Our criticism, while crude, was direct and visceral and often resulted in a cessation of projection.
The idea behind 'The Monuments Men' was great but the film was a dud. There are so many really interesting stories around the MFAA that could have been the inspiration for a good, well-scripted film. In point of fact, what comes to mind is a television series. Anyone? In the meantime, where are those lollipops?
As it turned out, it was it was, in fact a simple goodies and baddies film of the sort Hollywood has been churning out since the twenties. The wicked Nazis were intent on destroying all their looted art while the virtuous American curators (they got rid of the token Brit early on) in uniform tried to stop them. It didn’t exactly reach the level of knockabout farce - which would have shown some level of skill – but it was a near thing. If we can imagine Dad’s Army with American accents put into a Kelly’s Heroes situation then the general atmosphere is set up.
Yet perhaps I’m maligning Kelly’s Heroes, which is not my intention. Now that film was a satire on the flower-power pacifism of the sixties, when it was made, transposed to the intensely bellicose forties. It worked. 'The Monuments Men' is different. I'm not even going to mention the anomalies and anachronisms as licence can be taken on occasions to make a dramatic impact, if the film is worth it. But with this one....I think it reached its nadir when the American flag was hung up at the entrance to the salt mine in which the art works had been stored to indicate to the nasty Red Army that the goods had gone. And then, the sight of Neuschwanstein Castle added to the Disney element although, ironically enough, this castle was used for art storage .
In a way, the film reminded me of the Saturday afternoon children’s cinema where we would end up throwing lollipop sticks at the screen if the film was not up to our standards. Our criticism, while crude, was direct and visceral and often resulted in a cessation of projection.
The idea behind 'The Monuments Men' was great but the film was a dud. There are so many really interesting stories around the MFAA that could have been the inspiration for a good, well-scripted film. In point of fact, what comes to mind is a television series. Anyone? In the meantime, where are those lollipops?
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