TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
Hart's War (2002)
Lieutenant Hart (Collin Farrell) is the son of a U.S. Senator and as such has absolutely no chance of seeing real combat. He serves at a battalion command and is getting bored. He volunteers to drive another officer to his unit to help relieve that boredom. On their way, they are ambushed by German soldiers and Hart is captured. He then spends some time undergoing interrogation for information on the whereabouts of fuel dumps. Eventually he is sent on to a POW camp, much worse for the wear.
Hart is a young officer and has considerable trouble commanding respected from the enlisted men. They quickly spot his inexperience and battered psyche and take advantage. While they aren't outright rude to Hart, they do tend to patronize him. This gets a bit worse when he meets Colonel McNamara (Bruce Willis), the ranking American officer in the camp, who rapidly sees through Hart and understands exactly what happened during his interrogation at the hands of the Germans. So unimpressed is he that Hart isn't even quartered with the other officers, instead sent to sleep with the enlisted men.
Large numbers of POWs are arriving regularly and among them are two black pilots, Lieutenants Scott and Archer. These officers receive similar treatment as Hart and end up with the enlisted men, where they are not made welcome. Hart does his best to keep things civil but he simply doesn't carry enough weight with the men to stop the racist abuse. Archer is eventually shot by German guards in what looks like an obvious set up. Later, Scott is acused of murdering an American soldier in retaliation. There is to be a court martial proceding to determine his fate, which McNamara puts in the hands of Hart as his defense attorney.
What makes this movie stand out is it's smart script. In it, no character has simple motivations. There are no two dimensional characters. Everybody seems to have something to hide or want something that isn't immediately obvious. Take for instance Colonel Visser (Marcel Iures) in charge of the Stalag the prisoners are in. He isn't the stock evil German officer. Far from it actually. He is a thoughtful intelligent man with a Yale education. He isn't just a blind follower of his government. Instead he is a patriot who has fought for his nation in two World Wars and knows the reality of his situation.
Farrell and Willis do fine work in this film, circling each other carefully more as opponents than allies. Toss in Iures for added complications and we have a fascinating power struggle at work without really knowing exactly who is fighting for what. There are multiple layers of intigue to the story that keep the audience guessing. The quality performances help fill out well written characters and that makes the major characters quite likeable and you'll probably be surprised by which ones you find most appealing.
The movie's purpose seems to evolve as it goes along. Early on it's a look at the life of a prisoner of war. Later it becomes a tale of racial injustice and finally it turns into a tale of honor and the sacrifice that a soldier makes for his country. These shifts in town come very naturally and never seem forced. In fact by the time they occur it seems like the story's natural direction to take. It would be disappointing for it to go in another direction.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this film is that it was released in the generally weak early year. This is generally a dumping ground for films the studios would really rather not admit making so to find a gem like Hart's War at this time of the year is a delightful surprise.
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
