Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: George Clooney, Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox, PG 118 Minutes.
This enjoyable war drama (released in 2014) has been described as “the greatest treasure hunt in history”. The Monuments Men is from director George Clooney (‘Gravity’) who contributes both as an actor and co-writer for the screen adaptation of Robert Edsel’s famed book of the same name.
Based on a true story it recounts an operation endorsed by President Roosevelt of a group of six men led by Frank Stokes to recover artistic and historical masterpieces stolen by the Nazis as World War Two was ending.
The six men recruited by Clooney’s character Stokes are all art aficionados and portrayed by a great cast comprising of Matt Damon (‘Bourne’ franchise) as James Granger; John Goodman (‘Argo’) as Walter Garfield; Bill Murray (‘Ghostbusters’) as Richard Campbell; Hugh Bonneville (‘Downton Abbey’) as Donald Jeffries; Jean Dujardin (‘The Artist’) as Jean Claude Clermont; and Bob Balaban (‘Fading Gigolo’) as Preston Savitz.
Stokes and his team of art specialists turned soldiers risk their lives in the dying days of the war in a race against time to salvage artworks, especially those stored in Hitler’s secluded museum to prevent their destruction.
Their search is facilitated by the curator Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett – ‘Carol’), a French insider working for the Nazis, who holds the secret to finding such special artefacts as Michelangelo’s “Madonna and Child”.
Due to Simone maintaining a ledger of the precious artefacts it is left to Stokes and his men to meticulously retrieve all those stored in castles and mines to prevent the German Army from destroying them.
Clooney’s clever direction of this war drama provides for a memorable experience, focusing on each of the characters that comprise his feted ‘Monuments Men’ and injecting his particular brand of humour into the storyline with a number of great one-liners.
It is hard to imagine anyone but Clooney turning an incredible story into an inspiring and uplifting movie besides assembling such an all-star cast.
Furthermore there is one of the most profound speeches made in the movie about the importance of civilisation when Stokes states: “You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they’ll still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements and it’s as if they never existed.”
Finally at the end of the movie there is the touching moment showing the black and white photos of the real Monuments Men.
The Monuments Men is being televised on Channel 7flix at 8.30pm on Friday 20 November
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
