Saints and Soldiers (2004)
"There's this aetheist in our company who smokes, drinks, cusses like the devil, calls all women whores and, oh yea - he saved my life. Great guy."
Starring: |
Corbin Allred |
Released By: |
Excel |
Released In: |
2004 |
Rated: |
PG-13 |
Reviewed By: |
Adam Mast |
Grade: |
B |
Saints and Soldiers is a surprisingly effective war film. I say surprising because it was shot on a very low budget, and yet the films creators have fashioned a great-looking, impressively written and executed film that manages to get across a strong message.
Taking place shortly before the infamous Battle of the Bulge, Saints and Soldiers tells the story of a group of American GI's stranded behind enemy lines during a mission to rescue a British pilot in possession of vital information for the Allied forces. As the film progresses these soldiers learn a great deal about one another. They come from a wide variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds and, despite their various differences, a strong bond develops between the men. One of them, for example happens to be Mormon, and in the early going the others don't quite know what to make of him, but soon, they realize that - surprise - he's just a person much like the rest of them.
Saints and Soldiers was made by L.D.S. film makers, but it's aimed at a much broader audience than the recent onslaught of Mormon themed films (i.e. Home Teachers, The R.M. and Pride and Prejudice). Not that I'm anti-L.D.S. mind you. Far from it. I'm married to a member of the church and she is quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to me (no, this is not an attempt at kissing up - I'm being sincere). It's just that far too often, L.D.S. films are weakened by their overt attept to beat the audience over the head with the gospel. A trap that Saints and Soldiers deftly avoids. The religious overtones in this film are very subtle and this is both welcome and refreshing.
Corbin Allred's Nathan "Deacon" Greer is a soft-spoken soldier, and while his faith does become pivitol to the story, it's used in an honest fashion and doesn't necessarily become the emphasis of the film. In fact, save for one heavy-handed moment (one that involves an attempted shooting) I found the entire scenario surprisingly restrained.
As for the rest of the picture, it is extremely efficient. Even though this film was shot on a boot-string budget, the attention paid to period detail is picture perfect. The battle sequences are well staged, the costume design is outstanding, the locations are extremely realistic and the cinematography is extremely impressive. Much of it is hand held, but this benefits the picture and lends a kind of intimacy to the foxhole melee.
There is war carnage to be found in Saints and Soldiers, but this isn't a bloody affair. It is a very accessible film, and while the lack of in-your-face violence may seem unrealistic to some, I wasn't bothered because this particular movie has something else to say.
The performances here are terrific, and each soldier is well drawn. The standouts are a quietly effective Allred, whose performance has a subtle power. I was impressed for the first time by Kirby Heyborn who irritated me to no end with his overplayed role in the recent The Best Two Years. With this performance it's clear that he has a future as an actor.
Director Ryan Little and writers Geoffrey Panos and Matt Whitaker have done a great job with what little resources they had to work with. This hasn't the budget of a Saving Private Ryan, but Saints and Soldiers does a good job presenting it's themes of faith and honor, and the actors generate real chemistry. With only a few heavy handed moments to speak of (including an unnecessary insert shot toward the end of the picture) I was quite moved by this film.
This work may not be reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Kevin Jones, Adam Mast or David Horton.
zBoneman.com respects the rights of image ownership and endeavor to use only royalty-free images.
All images are used for entertainment purposes only. If we are using an image contradictory to this policy leave a comment and we will remove it.
:: zBoneman.com Reader Comments ::