Before I saw the film, I have read the comments. Many of You liked Spielberg's new movie. But some of You, mostly from the U.S., write things like "proud to be an American" or "part of American History" or "every American should see this movie".
First of all, I want to say that this war must have been pure terror. National Socialism was an indescribably evil disgrace to humanity. Many of You have grandparents who fought proudly against the Germans in World War II, but I (as a 25-year old German) and others have Grandparents who were bombed out of their homes at night and could not get a whole night's sleep ever since. My parents were born during the war, their first baby-impressions were gunshots and explosions - for years! Nowadays, in Germany it still is common to find old, still explodable bombs when building a new house.
Second, this is not American history, it is not German history, it is World history - Our history. It is the blackest spot ever to be found in the history of the human race.
Third: I don't mean to be rude, but I think that many people have lost the connection to reality. In the first place, making a war movie has two major aspects: Making money (bad) and Reviving History for educational purposes (respectable). But then, feeling history is completely different. In my very neighbourhood, there was a Concentration Camp, only some 53 years ago. I have been to that beach in France, and let me tell You: Just seeing the sea, the sand, the dunes really scared me rigid. Talking with my grandma (she led a baby nursing home in that time), that's history. Just sitting in a movie theatre, listening to SDDS and watching Tom Hanks cry is a different experience.
What I want to state here is that there is quite a difference between a movie (may it be as realistic as possible) and real history. This really happened! Millions of people were slaughtered in the most cruel ways! By other people! When I go to my University building, I see the holes in the wall which have been there since the war. They have never been repaired in order to give people something to think about. From exactly that building, Sophie Scholl and her friends threw Anit-Nazi papers into the crowd and got executed only a short time later.
I think the film is quite accurate, actually. It is not the most impressive war film I have ever seen (that's "The Bridge" from 1959), but it shows how the war was like. In all aspects. Anyway, how can war films be "good" or "best"? "Saving Private Ryan" is an exceptional educational masterpiece, it should be recommended together with "Schindler's List", but it is only a movie. It cannot replace reality.
So, I recommend this: Watch the movie, everyone! But also think about the real people of any nation that were cruelly murdered in those years, and think about those who lived through it. Even think of those who were with the regime and still walk the earth. Then, book a ticket for Europe, see the Normandie for yourself, see Berlin, see Dresden, see Munich, see the wounds of history. And see that being German is not the same as being a Nazi. After You get home to wherever You come from, I promise, You then will have a different view of reality.
First of all, I want to say that this war must have been pure terror. National Socialism was an indescribably evil disgrace to humanity. Many of You have grandparents who fought proudly against the Germans in World War II, but I (as a 25-year old German) and others have Grandparents who were bombed out of their homes at night and could not get a whole night's sleep ever since. My parents were born during the war, their first baby-impressions were gunshots and explosions - for years! Nowadays, in Germany it still is common to find old, still explodable bombs when building a new house.
Second, this is not American history, it is not German history, it is World history - Our history. It is the blackest spot ever to be found in the history of the human race.
Third: I don't mean to be rude, but I think that many people have lost the connection to reality. In the first place, making a war movie has two major aspects: Making money (bad) and Reviving History for educational purposes (respectable). But then, feeling history is completely different. In my very neighbourhood, there was a Concentration Camp, only some 53 years ago. I have been to that beach in France, and let me tell You: Just seeing the sea, the sand, the dunes really scared me rigid. Talking with my grandma (she led a baby nursing home in that time), that's history. Just sitting in a movie theatre, listening to SDDS and watching Tom Hanks cry is a different experience.
What I want to state here is that there is quite a difference between a movie (may it be as realistic as possible) and real history. This really happened! Millions of people were slaughtered in the most cruel ways! By other people! When I go to my University building, I see the holes in the wall which have been there since the war. They have never been repaired in order to give people something to think about. From exactly that building, Sophie Scholl and her friends threw Anit-Nazi papers into the crowd and got executed only a short time later.
I think the film is quite accurate, actually. It is not the most impressive war film I have ever seen (that's "The Bridge" from 1959), but it shows how the war was like. In all aspects. Anyway, how can war films be "good" or "best"? "Saving Private Ryan" is an exceptional educational masterpiece, it should be recommended together with "Schindler's List", but it is only a movie. It cannot replace reality.
So, I recommend this: Watch the movie, everyone! But also think about the real people of any nation that were cruelly murdered in those years, and think about those who lived through it. Even think of those who were with the regime and still walk the earth. Then, book a ticket for Europe, see the Normandie for yourself, see Berlin, see Dresden, see Munich, see the wounds of history. And see that being German is not the same as being a Nazi. After You get home to wherever You come from, I promise, You then will have a different view of reality.