Crayzee Jew

An excellent portrayal into the futility of war. The movie, based on the classic movie made in the 1930's of the same name, definitely hits a lot of chords on the banality and futility of war. It starts when we see a terrified raw private, ejecting live rounds from his gun, before he charges in and is killed in close-quarters combat. His uniform is repurposed for the next group of soldiers who enter the war, voluntarily, with songs on their lips. How quickly those songs turn to laments once they enter the front and see the brutality of the war they are engaging in. In the aftermath of the first big battle, Paul is directed by an NCO to collect the dog tags of the dead, a task that lies with drastic foreshadowing of what events lie ahead. Throughout the film, we are treated to brutal scenes of infantry charges, whether to "gain" a new position for a brief respite before the inevitable counterattack, or when you see infantry with hand grenades trying to take on tanks and strafing airplanes. The brutality and graphic violence are reminiscent of the D-Day scenes of Saving Private Ryan, yet the waste of life here is felt throughout. As these scenes play out, we see the contrast between the same war told by those negotiating for its end, and those engaged in fighting this war. While soldiers starve or are shot for stealing food just a few hours before the war ends, we see the general staff tossing massive scraps of meat to their dogs, or the French negotiating party being upset that the pastries aren't fresh. A close friend of our main protagonist is killed when a food sortie goes awry, and the doctor says how unlucky he is to be killed a mere hour before the peace arrives. Yet he was killed a mere few hours before the armistice is finalized, others suffered a far worse batch of ill luck due to some idiotic general who wants to end the war with his dignity. He vainly orders the brutalized survivors to capture a previously held position. Any soldiers that refuse, are shot. The soldiers end up charging a mere 15 minutes before the end of the war, and right before the whistles blow and peace arrives, we witness the death of our protagonist. The young raw recruit who was saved by our protagonist is tasked with the solemn duty of collecting all the dog tags of the dead, and when he stumbles upon the body of our hero, it hits him how unlucky he is, and what a true waste of life this all was. Props/tactics and lighting was superb for this movie, the acting was top notch and the sound was a delightful storytelling element all in its own right. Definitely adding this movie to my war library as one of my favorites... Would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of accurately portrayed war movies.