The Monuments Men
Dir: George Clooney
2014
**
The Monuments Men refers to a World War II organisation of museum directors, curators, and art historians who were part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program set up to search for fine art and sculpture that the Nazis stole from around Europe during occupation. I knew nothing of this program, the men recruited or indeed the art that was saved by them before watching this film and found the idea quite intriguing. Clooney himself has said that 80% of the film is factual, not bad by today's standards but he has been contradicted by experts who say the percentage is actually a lot lower. I'm not sure how much of it matters, the story is told. However, as well directed as it is, the structure of the film is pretty messy. The group splits and so does the story, this is done so at the expense of a clear idea of where and when events occur, which is quite distracting for the viewer. The other distracting element was the tone. The balance between humour and drama isn't always handled in the most tasteful of ways. Clooney doesn't pull on the heartstrings unnecessarily or bait for an Oscar like he could have done but when the film really could touch on some serious issues, it quickly flicks to the next scene, is if the film was catered purely for sufferers of ADHD. I also feel that Clooney made excuses for the men's mission a little too much. Is art more important than a man's life? The answer is no, Clooney himself says so in the film in no uncertain terms and very prolifically too...again, again and again. The cast is great although spread a little thin, the directions is good but the editing is poor, overall it's entertaining but it does seem like a wasted opportunity and should have gone back to the editing room once more before release.