“What is art? It’s people’s lives.”
Swift shot: Loosely based on “The Monuments Men” by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter, George Clooney unveils a little known legacy of World War II as he directs an all-star cast of motley, middle-aged heroes. Their heroism isn’t defined so much by their actions in the film, rather in their willingness to simply be there . . . to protect the very culture Hitler was trying to erase from the fabric of history.
With a deliberately slow pace and a sometimes exhaustive exposition, The Monuments Men tends to suffer in places because it has such talented actors all vying for screen time. There are almost too many to list here, but I will. Bill Murray, John Goodman, Matt Damon, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban, Jean Dujardin, Cate Blanchett, and Clooney himself dot the film which takes the audience across Europe in every major battle on the German Front. As the team hunts for stolen masterpieces, they learn that the Nazis are just as determined to keep the treasure of the reich. And the Nazis aren’t the only ones looking for riches.
Explored in the film is the very notion of sacrificing a life for a painting, for a piece of marble, for a thing. In the end, isn’t art just a collection of things left behind? Perhaps to some, but not to the men (and women) of Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section, known as the “Monuments Men.”
I actually saw this film surrounded by members of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Norton Museum of Art, and as some of the more dramatic moments played out, I felt a genuine sadness engulf the theater. I can’t say it will leave a mark on everyone, but it should serve as a reminder that an entire culture was almost wiped off the earth by a failed artist with a Napoleon complex!
