Columbia Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures,
George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett
World War II is obviously wrapping up, and as the Nazi’s retreat, they are burning cities and towns to the ground and leaving nothing behind. In addition, they know that the world’s history is tied to the thousands of works of art throughout Europe in homes, museums, and such, so they have a definitive plan to steal and cart off, hide, or destroy everything they can get their hands on. The armed forces is naturally concerned about winning the war, so they’re not very much interested in art work. But Frank Stokes (George Clooney) convinces FDR to task him to put together a team of museum curators, museum directors, and art critics to go behind the enemy lines, find where the Nazi’s have hidden these treasures before the war ends, or the Nazi’s destroy the lot. It’s a tough task, but these guys are willing to risk everything to save the history of mankind. Based on the true story.
This is a very inspiring film. It’s a generous mix of big battles and war scenes, treachery and detective work, danger and loss. It is an exciting story, very well told and well acted, with a slew of top stars. There are funny moments, naturally, but mostly it’s a suspense filled war story. George Clooney directed and wrote the screenplay, and I must give kudos to him for that. He did an excellent job of presenting the story that kept it very interesting throughout. It’s highly entertaining, yet somehow educational at the same time. I learned a lot about an unknown part of the war for me. I had never thought about it before, but the history of man is truly told through it’s art. On a recent trip to visit my daughter at University of California, Santa Barbara, we were able to take some time to visit the Art Museum in Santa Barbara. She had been there before, but she wanted to take me as I have always wanted to visit an art museum but have never had the chance. I was really impressed with their collection of famous artists and pieces going back thousands of years from China and Egypt and other places. It was a real pleasure. After seeing this film, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the ancient European pieces were saved by this team of seven brave men. I completely enjoyed this film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who would enjoy the war story, or the hero story, or even the art story, as this one has something for everyone.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
