Review of The Monuments Men (2014) by Jeffrey C — 14 Jun 2014

One line summary: Beautiful story of recovering art from Nazi looting in WWII.

----------------------------------------------.

Frank convinces James, Richard, John, Jean Claude, and Donald to form the Monuments Men, a group dedicated to finding art looted by the Nazis and return it, if possible to owners. Most of them are middle-aged, but have to go through boot camp. They are not instantly respected by regular army.

There are several detective stories to follow, and there are losses in war. They find a number of salt mines filled with art works. The Nazis also destroy a good bit of it, and the Russians 'liberate' a fair chunk of it themselves. Their support from the military grows when they discover a huge cache of gold bullion.

Some of their last finds were of sculpture, which they find in a castle in Germany. Frank's interactions with Claire, a combination collaborator, resistance fighter, art historian, and cataloger, yield a manifest that helps them later on.

How much of the obstruction by the Nazis and the Russians can they overcome?

-----Scores-----.

Cinematography: 10/10 Wonderfully shot.

Sound: 8/10 Good to excellent.

Acting: 10/10 Quite good performances by a stellar cast.

Screenplay: 10/10 Nice story telling.