The Monuments Men (2014)
Certified: 12
Duration: 118 minutes
Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett, Sam Hazeldine, Dimitri Leonidas
KRS release
This film is inspired by the true life events portrayed in the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel. As moviemaking goes, this is a classy venture that, in terms of star power, feels like Ocean’s Eleven set in World War II.
Directed by George Clooney, The Monuments Men is well executed. It has an episodic feel to it but this is mostly owing to its original source and the end result is an interesting feature.
Halfway through World War II, it was evident that looting of artworks had been carried out on a massive scale in the countries occupied by the Nazis. The intention was to build a Fuhrer Museum filled with artistic treasures from all over the globe.
Art historian Frank Stokes (George Clooney) is not happy with this and manages to get the US president on his side. An unlikely team is brought together from various countries in order to find the hidden artwork.
This group includes: James Granger (Matt Damon), Richard Cambell (Bill Murray), Walter Garfield (John Goodman), Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban), French Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin) and British Donald Jeffries (Hugh Bonneville). This unit is tagged as The Monuments Men.
The going will not always be easy and war-torn Europe is a very dangerous place. In addition, they meet Claire Simon (Cate Blanchett), a French museum official who had seen the Nazis in action. However, she does not trust the Allies much because she thinks that they will end up taking the art for themselves.
Clooney seems to want his film to be serious, flighty and contemporary, all at the same time – a sort of modern Kelly’s Heroes (1970) and The Train (1964) but with a more realistic edge.
However, the plot is almost surreal at times, as we follow these men chasing artworks against a backdrop of destruction and dying people.
Clooney’s collaboration with cinematographer Phedon Papamichael succeeds in evocating the vibe of the 1950s Hollywood style of film-making, giving The Monuments Men its classy feel.
The characterisations are excellent even though the cast is large and not everyone gets enough screen time.
What is interesting here is how our art heroes connect with each other and with what they find as they crawl further into German territory.
Bonneville from Downton Abbey is spot on as a man who considers his mission as a sort of redemption for him.
Damon fits into the picture neatly while Blanchett brings an amount of style and controlled passion to the screen.
The film may make us appreciate even more the treasures we take so much for granted and how many people died so that these works could still be around today.