Valkyrie

Wow!

I compare "Valkyrie" to "Apollo 13" - we all know how it turns out, but in the telling of the story, we're mesmerized in it's unfolding, anxious for all the maybes and could-have-beens.

Cruise is excellent in this role - Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg - a professional soldier - a Prussian - dedicated to his work and utterly devoted to his Fatherland. But that's the rub - whose Germany is it? Is it Hitler's Germany to which he's loyal, or something larger, something better?

Several TV reviews last night (December 28) took Cruise to task - one said, "too bad he's in every scene."

In my take on things, not even close to the truth - he's perfect for the role. A devoted man, good looking and utterly clear - so Prussian!

A Wikipedia picture of Stauffenberg with Hitler bears a striking resemblance in profile and carriage to Cruise in the film - standing erect on the far left.

But this film, unlike "The Wrestler," is story-driven, not actor-driven. It's a big story with dozens of characters - large and small (had the feel of "The Longest Day" now and then); I was pleased with the casting - everyone seems just right for their respective roles - from the pompous and self-important, to the cautious and reluctant, and those in the middle - utterly clear about ultimate loyalties and the price to be paid, for both success and failure.

It's a story we rarely hear, often believing that the whole of Germany stood with Hitler, but the facts are otherwise. There were a number of plots to remove Hitler, beginning in the late 1930s (see excellent article about German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Many a German disliked Hitler and Nazism, but the little madman held all the cards, having gathered around him thousands of small-minded men and bureaucratic sycophants devoted to a dream of world-domination.

I was utterly taken by the music - I try to pay attention to such things - whether they work or not - and it all works - the music got to my guts again and again.

Visually, a beautiful film - beginning in North Africa and then on to Berlin and the German High Command. Rich in color and simple camera angles - it all works as the drama unfolds.

The film ends as we know it will - but what a story for us all.

Ever since Vietnam and Reagan, we've seen a false patriotism rear it's ugly head, the kind of patriotism that drove the German nation to ruin, and the kind of patriotism seen as false by Stauffenberg.

Historical accuracy is high - as far as I can tell from what reading I've done - including the discarding of the second plastique bomb as Stauffenberg and his adjutant drive away from the Wolf's Lair after the explosion, convinced Hitler is dead, on their way to Berlin to continue the coup.

That the plot unfolded as it did ... that a man like Stauffenberg could carry a brief-case-hidden bomb into the room wouldn't happen today, what with hyper-surveillance and searches.

The irony is that nine months later Hitler commits suicide, and tragically, those not already executed for the bomb plot were all executed just days before the end.

Stauffenberg's wife lived until April, 2006 - as noted in a few historical notes tagged on at the end. That little note jolted me - it was the connection between the film and its story to the reality of it all - these were real people living in extraordinary times - making fateful and dangerous decisions - to stay the course and see what happens, or take up the cause and actively plot to remove Hitler.

A chilling tale well told. Hats off to the directory, Bryan Singer, and the whole crew.

Lions for Lambs

Tight drama ... script and actor driven ...

Cruise better than I had anticipated ... a smarmy young Republican who could score some points, nonetheless, with an aging journalist (Streep) trying to recover her integrity in an industry that had long since traded away news for ratings and profits.

Redford is the quintessential college professor, trying desperately to awaken young minds to their responsibility for the world - here is where the story becomes very good: two of his students decide to join the army and make their stand as soldiers. Though the professor strongly disagrees, he nonetheless supports their heart for making things better.

In this film, no one is innocent in the current mess - but it's the soldier who is spared - a lesson we learned from Vietnam - the grunt in the rice paddy is not the enemy - he's a lion - being led by politicians who have never bled on the battlefield - men who are lambs (from a German general in WW 1 - of the British soldier - lions - being led by the inept lambs).

Hats off to Redford and company for producing a film that avoids the cliches and easy categories, yet relies upon truisms that are simply that - always true.

To the young man in his office, Redford says something like, "Adulthood sneaks up on you. You're 10 decisions into it before you realize it. The decisions you make now you will live with the rest of your life" (this is a script I'd love to read).

Great music throughout ... I loved the abrupt ending ... you live with your decisions ... or die with them ... and as the credits began to roll, the theater (Arclight - LA) remained dark - folks sat there, and then one of the credits, in the background, a scattering of political buttons inscribed with one word, "Vote."

That's the message ... cast your vote, and vote with your life. If you've been given a silver spoon, use it to feed the hungry.

You can make a difference!