Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Monuments Men (film)

Recently I reviewed the non-fiction book The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel.  As I said in my review, I had mixed feelings about the book. It wasn't an easy read but I liked learning about the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program and the efforts to preserve and recover pieces of art and other cultural artifacts during and following World War II.


My husband and I were interested in the film of the same name, a fictionalized version of events in the book. On initial viewing we were disappointed. I suspect that our expectations were too high. On a second viewing we enjoyed it more, even though it still has its problems.

The basic facts in the film are true. How the group was put together was fairly accurate although I think I read that George Stout did not get to choose the men he was working with. But a lot of dramatic license was taken with many of the events, and I did not care for that. It was a very light movie, with little substance.

The characters in the film do not have the names of the real persons who did the work. For most of the characters, you can make an educated guess as to which character in the movie corresponds to the real life person profiled in the book. In some cases, there was no correspondence.

The film would have been better served by using less well known actors. The character played by George Clooney in the film corresponded to George Stout and I think he fit the role very well. But pairing him with Matt Damon made portions of the film seem like another version of Ocean's Eleven. I love Bill Murray and Bob Balaban, and the other actors were very good, but I could not forget who they were and see them as real persons in a wartime setting. There was a lot of humor in the film. There is humor in real life too, but in this case I felt like it trivialized the importance of the story.

Cate Blanchette was marvelous in the role of Claire Simone, an employee at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris who had records of the location of many of the artifacts that were spirited out of Paris. The real-life person was Rose Valland, and I would have liked to see more of her role emphasized, without throwing in a hint at romantic involvement (which did not happen).

Overall, I am glad that both the book and the film adaptation are available. Many people who will not read the book might see the movie. I am glad this information is being publicized more, even though it would have been nice if it had been done when more of the original Monuments Men were still alive.

The most important thing for me to say about this film is that I wish my father could have seen it. My father was a World War II veteran who served in the Air National Guard for many years following the war. He was called up and sent to France and Germany for a year when the Berlin Wall went up. He was proud of serving his country and he loved art. He loved to go to museums and he visited several when he was in France and Germany that year. I have many childhood and adult memories of him looking through and reading books of European art and the history of World War II. He would have loved this film.

Resources:
At Slate.com this article asks How Accurate is The Monuments Men?


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You make an interesting point, Tracy. On the one hand, it would be good if the film had been more historically accurate and more substantive. On the other hand, it's important to keep the memory of what these men did alive. I wish your father could have seen the film too.

TracyK said...

Margot: The film was not objectionable to me, but it could have been much better.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Tracy, I watched this film partly for Bill Murray and Matt Damon. I'll have to read the book and see how the two mediums compare.

TracyK said...

Prashant, I like both of those actors, and many of the other actors in the movie. And they were good in their roles in the movie. Please let me know what you think once you have read the book.

col2910 said...

I'm more likely to watch this than read the book, though I'm not about to rush and get a copy. One day then...

TracyK said...

Col, this is a hard movie to say whether someone would like it or not. I have heard so many different reactions. Of course, if you watch it without reading the book, then you have no expectations, which can be good.

Clothes In Books said...

I've enjoyed reading about both book and film here, but doubt that I will be going for either. I like books that tell me about WW2 but prefer something more domestic I think.

TracyK said...

Moira, unfortunately, in general I just don't do that well at reading non-fiction books. About 10 years ago I read a very long and very dry book about submarine warfare during WWII. I got through that and liked it. Since then I have not really enjoyed any non-fiction I have read. Only mystery reference books, which I can read and re-read.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your view on this, Tracy. People around me gave me the impression that the film was not very good. Casting iconic actors in certain roles often can be a distraction I agree. I appreciate it when showrunners/directors recognize that and don't use them.

TracyK said...

Keishon, I haven't wanted to turn people off this movie but I do have to say what I really think. It is not a waste of time but more a rent than a buy. We did buy a copy and I am sure we will watch it more times, for various reasons.

Bill Selnes said...

TracyK: I did not enjoy the movie. I did not think it well written. For me the movie lacked the drama of the real efforts of the Monuments Men. It did not hold my interest.

I thought it should have been titled the Monuments Men and a Woman. Without Rose their searches would have been far more difficult.

Lastly, and I expect unfairly, the only Monuments Men to be killed in the movie were non-Americans.

TracyK said...

Bill, I agree with you on the writing. It seemed like some vignettes, with no focus. I don't dislike the movie, but there was potential for a much better movie.

Interesting comment about the men who died. From one source I read that only two MFAA officers were killed during the war. One was Balfour, an Englishman, the other was Walter Huchthausen, an American architect.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/19/george-clooney-monuments-men-ignores-british-hero