War at the movies

[matrixman]

Thoughts about the 60th anniversary of D-Day over the weekend inspired this topic.

I want to mention a film that few may know of, since it was shot in Canada (in my home province of Manitoba, no less):

For The Moment (1994) is an understated romantic drama set during WWII, though the war is felt more as a distant event within the context of prairie life. It stars Russell Crowe--he made this film just before making his big splash in Hollywood.

Crowe is Lachlan, an Aussie pilot who, along with other eager young men, have come to air training centres in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth's war effort. While stationed in the prairies, Lachlan falls in love with a local married woman, Lill (Christianne Hirt), whose brother has gone off to join the war, just as her husband already has.

Lachlan and Lill have a fling in her husband's absence, but when Lill receives awful news from the front lines, she is torn by a dilemma: continue to love a man (Lachlan) who may never return from action, or stay loyal to her husband, who also may never return--thus losing the two loves in her life.

This is one of those films that is heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time. It's good to have a film like this to give a prairie perspective on the emotional cost of war. Those wanting the firepower and grandeur of a Hollywood production may be disappointed by this small scale picture, but its bittersweet story has a simple power all its own.

What war movies are meaningful to you?

[aTOMiC]

Saving Private Ryan forced me to re examine every war film I'd ever seen. After watching it for the first time I felt sick, like I had witnessed a murder. Harsh reality invaded the adventure drama of war films for me.

[dANdeLION]

"The Big Red One" left a huge impression, as did "M*A*S*H", and "30 Seconds over Tokyo".

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

There are lots of war movies out there, some are good, some are just crap. So many have moved me to tears.

Saving Private Ryan
The Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
Platoon
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Glory
Black Hawk Down
Band of Brothers
Born on the 4th of July

All of these truly capture the esscence of war in their own unique ways, be it physically through brutal bloodshed and war, or psychologically afer a war and what it can do to a person and how they deal with the remenants of what they've done.

D-Day is an important day, and sadly I feel that a lot of today's youth don't truly understand what happened, or the sacrafices that were made for all of us. These movies are just that, they'r emovies, but maybe why they're important is b/c they give us a glimpse, or reminder of what happened.