The Monuments Men – a different kind of war film

Written, directed and starring George Clooney, The Monuments Men is based on Robert M. Edsel’s non-fiction book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, which presents a view of the Second World War that few readily acknowledge.

Clooney plays Lt. Frank Stokes, who assembles ‘The Monuments Men’, an Army unit comprising museum directors, curators, and art historians to assist the Allies in the search for art stolen by the Nazis.

The importance of Lt. Stokes mission comes to light in the wake of the Nero Decree, a directive from Hitler that if he dies, or if Germany falls to the Allies, the Nazis are to destroy all German infrastructure, including the stolen art.

Stokes and his men, comprising an accomplished ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman, and aided by a French curator (played by Australia’s Cate Blanchett), race against the advancing forces of the Allies in order to prevent the priceless masterpieces being consigned to the dusts of history.

I must give Goodman special mention here for his performance, as he has seemingly reinvented himself for roles such as this and the one he played in the Oscar winning Argo, where his comedic talents are complimented by his new found dramatic range.

The trailer might make this film look like Oceans Eleven against a backdrop of WWII, but it is far from that. Like all war films, you know not all of the characters are going to make it out alive, but it has its lighter moments too, like seeing the older gents put through a wisecracking montage of basic military training, or when Damon’s Lt. James Granger has a close encounter with a land mine.

Well worth a watch.

Words by Alex Malyon