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Jun 20, 2015MadameMoonfly rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Wow, an American Civil War film with nary an African-American until that blink of an eye before a group of escaping slaves get blown up in a cornfield. Our protagonist weakly (but affectingly) protests, "No, don't..." *** The Civil War was about pretty white people, don't you know? Some were impoverished, some not so much, but most were essentially apolitical like plebeians throughout the ages. (Who cares, really, why we are slogging through yet another killing field?) They just wanted to survive long enough to date, mate and proliferate. I realize that in some grand philosophical narratives, all wars are basically the same -- nasty and brutish -- while all human beings are ruled by the same biological imperatives. Universal truths aside, it would have been more interesting to be able to tell the difference between this particular war and, say, that ancient Peloponnesian conflict between Spartans and Athenians even though it's not impossible to find one or two historical similarities. Beyond costuming, faux southern accents and the horrors of war, wasn't there some essential defining quality to the American war between the states worth highlighting??? I haven't read the book so I can't judge based on that. Sadly, as the film has so offended my sense of historicity and truthful storytelling (not to mention whatever that word is for ethical Americanism), I am not likely to ever explore the book. Time is precious -- I've already spent a ridiculous amount upset over this film -- and there are way too many other books to read. *** NOTE: This film is my inspiration for a list called "Films I Loathe."