After leaving his family’s sheep farm in the Australian outback, a young man joins his countrymen on the western front of World War I with hopes of helping expedite an end to the bloody conflict. But as war rages on, he is forced to grapple with the brutal realities of trench warfare, including a near-constant battle to keep himself alive—without leaving another man behind.
It has been nearly 70 years since Stanley Kubrick made the greatest WWI film, “Paths of Glory.” Starring Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, a French commander who is court-martialed for refusing to continue a hopeless attack that would result in all of his men being killed. The film caused an uproar, being banned in France, and its screening at the Berlin Film Festival was canceled. “Paths of Glory” refused to glorify war and was critical of the establishment, which allowed atrocities to flourish and any dissidents to be punished. There have been many WWI films since, but none have come close to Kubrick’s kinetic style or the meaningful commentary within the script. “Before Dawn” is the opposite; it seeks to glorify war and is mainly concerned with its perception of heroes.
In “Before Dawn,” Jim Collins (Levi Miller) is a sheep farmer who leaves his humble homestead to fight on the Western front alongside his Aussie countrymen. As you would expect, Jim quickly learns that “war is hell,” but the screenplay also posits that One Man can make a difference. The production was made with a small budget, and while the costumes and trenches look authentic, the battle sequences lack the necessary brutality, precisely what a war picture needs. Add in some unnecessary flashbacks and cinematic tropes like “you’re fighting for the man next to you” and so on – I wondered why even make this.
Although I am a devout man of peace, I enjoy war films. Especially when you can balance the spectacle of sensational action with thoughtful dialogue or meaningful moments; aside from “Paths of Glory,” films like “Apocalypse Now,” “The Deer Hunter,” “Platoon,” “The Thin Red Line,” and “Full Metal Jacket” are prime examples of what a war film should be. Unfortunately, most recent films are all about heroes and are less critical of wars being waged by leaders who will never have to shed blood or lose a loved one. Unless someone can recapture those previously mentioned stories or reinvent the War genre, someone should make an entertaining film about peaceful negotiations and diplomacy.
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