For the fallen…but not forgotten.
Saints and Soldiers tells the true story of a US Army battalion forced to surrender behind enemy lines during the fierce battle of the bulge, Hitler’s last ditch offensive to secure his dwindling supply lines in allied-controlled Europe. One can almost imagine the soul-less mind of the commanding officer as he read the order to take no prisoners direct from the Fuhrer. Yet, from the onset, the film portrays the massacre as an all too familiar “accident” of men with guns and no discipline over-reacting – a veritable Kent State, whoops, if you will.
I must admit, even being a history major and WWII fanatic, I had never heard of this massacre before. Once I knew it was BOATS [Based on a true story] – I had to know more. This film will definitely pique your curiosity about what really happened on that cold December day in Belgium. The actors were all nobody famous, no real stand-out performances, and it can always be argued that it is easy to portray a soldier, because most of us used to play guns, or cowboys and indians, or war, what have you, when we were younger. Yet, I really felt the acting was above par, considering it was by B-movie performers.
The script was amazing, with just the right hint of suspense and angst peppered in with subtle moments of light levity. The question, are there any atheists in a fighting-hole [that’s what we Marines call them anyway – since we don’t have fox tails] runs constant throughout this film. You may find yourself rolling your eyes at times if proselytizing irks you, but it is nowhere near as bad as the Left Behind Series. And, truly, when facing your end, can anyone hold firm to their non-deific beliefs as the bullets shatter brick and glass inches from your head? I think not.
The film starts with the Malmedy massacre and follows a group of survivors that are desperately trying to make it back to friendly lines; they refuse to simply survive though and are faced with ultimate choices of courage and sacrifice. Ghosts from the past haunt their souls, fighting thousands of miles away from home, these men struggle with concepts most of us will only face once in our lives – on an hourly basis. The emotion and power of the cinematography is noteworthy, as you can almost feel the frost on your boots, reminding you of a place of extreme cold – and as these men fought to live, their brothers died in the coldest banks of snow. It is easy to overlook these events today, but in my research I found out something chilling, these bastards below almost took out Charles Durning!
