The Longest Day (1962)

The Longest Day (1962)

Authentic WWII film (8*)

A film about just one day, but an important day. The film gives sometimes brilliant, sometimes anecdotal accounts of the 6th of June 1944.

Thanks to the personal focuses, involving many personal stories, forgotten details, important decisions, and many other insights, the film manages to fascinate.

The film is epic in its scale, with a lot of scenes in which many resources were invested. It is not epic in the sense of heroism, and that's a good thing. All levels of command are portrayed, each one with their own tough decisions to be made.

Another bonus is the absence of moral judgment, thanks to the often-lacking German points of view in WWII films. The inclusion of the French resistance is also noteworthy.

Acting is great, and history-lovers will have a great evening watching this film. I wish I could say this was the day that decided WWII, but I'd rather refer to the more recent film 'The Imitation Game'.

Europa Europa (1990)

Europa Europa (1990)

Interesting WWII film (7*)

Producing a film about Nazi Germany is easy and difficult at the same time. It is easy because many viewers are well-informed about the dramatic period in Germany's history, making the viewers' emotional involvement not too difficult. You don't name your son Adolf.

It is difficult because clichés are so easy to produce. The classical black-white versions of evil Germans versus glorious Allied forces is an obvious trap.

None of this in this film. It follows loosely a true story of a Jewish youngster hiding as a member of the Hitlerjugend - the Nazi youth movement. On top of his puberty, he has to face an identity crisis due to his choices to survive.

Other interesting parts of the story are a homosexual German soldier, a girl overly committed to her country and a Polish boy fighting for his catholic religion in communist Poland.

The way a part of difficult history books is mixed into the movie deserves to be mentioned, as well as the music. Sometimes though, overacting takes the upper hand.

But the fact remains that showing the true horror of the atrocities committed during that period is not fit for film, even in this German co-production, as only very few would be able to watch it.

However, it's still a very interesting film to watch.

Gettysburg (1993)

Gettysburg (1993)

Epic historical film to watch again (9*)

If there's only one word to describe this movie, it's epic. In all of its meanings: length, dialogues, significance, music, scenery, massive battlefields and so on.

The length (over 4 hours) probably scares potential viewers, as well as the locations: most of the footage was shot in the surroundings of Gettysburg.

However, the film is nothing less than a tour de force. It brings a balanced mix of personal stories, military strategy and battle scenes. Both the Union and Confederal sides are portrayed in a neutral manner.

The film captures the viewers' attention from beginning to end. The incredible eye for detail, the relentless tension, the battle's background story and many other aspects make it a film to watch again. Martin Sheen's interpretation of Confederate General Lee is also one of those reasons.

Both the horror and the glory take their place in the movie. Even if the film was produced over 20 years ago, the political aspects are still relevant today in the United States of America.

For history lovers, this is nothing less than a must-see.

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Thought-provoking war movie (8*)

At the end of the second world war, the Japanese armed forces make a stand on the strategic island Iwo Jima. With an imminent American invasion, a Japanese commander with an American affiliation takes the leadership of the island.

Although one could expect a 'traditional' war movie similar to Saving Private Ryan, it's none of that. The central theme of the movie is the clash between Japanese tradition and 'modern' values.

Through the use of personal stories, the film carries a strong message against the atrocities of war. But it also shows that individuals can make a positive difference in war. The many dilemmas the characters face show an interesting side of war.

Thanks to the smaller and bigger decisions the main actors have to take, this drama takes viewers within the Japanese's heads while fighting for their countries and families staying at home. Should they follow their values, their convictions, their leaders or their thoughts? 

Courageous choice to produce the movie in Japanese, dialogues are authentic, and emotions are real.

A thought-provoking movie, not a b-film to just fill an empty evening.

The Flowers of War - Jin ling shi san chai (2011)

The Flowers of War - Jin ling shi san chai (2011)

Good setting, less good movie (6*)

Producing a movie about sensitive historic conflicts is always difficult, since views on the events are usually written from the point of view of the winners of the war or conflict. In this case, the Chinese victims of the horrible massacre at Nanking of 1937. 

On the other hand, the losing party (the Japanese in this case) might have difficulties admitting the brutalities and bestialities that happened. Coming to terms with the past is something rarely achieved by movies. Compare this with movies on the Holocaust: there are many, but very few of them capture the real horror. La Vita è Bella is just one example. Same for this movie.

In this view, it is already an achievement to bring a "Hollywood-style" movie in cinemas about this topic. The horrors that happened are largely unknown to the greater public.

However, the movie in itself was a bit of a disappointment. The dialogues were not well worked out. The multiple languages used in the movie (English, Japanese and Chinese) did not interact well, making the chemistry between the actors difficult. 

The actors did make an effort, although Christian Bale could have done a little more. The Japanese soldiers seemed like caricatures with little character development. 

The lack of chemistry affected the connection with the viewer. Many clues and scenes were just too obvious and overly predictable, and you never really feel like you're standing in Nanking.

However, one good point is the use of light throughout the movie. Also, some scenes were surprisingly good, the battle scene in the beginning is just one example. 

So this movie is a nice one to watch if you like historical movies, but don't expect to be amazed.