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Eshin Direct

August 12, 2002 Hart’s War – Makes a point…in fact, several.

“>Harts WarIn the last months of the Second World War, an American administrative Lieutenant is captured by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge. Sent to a German Stalag Prison camp, Lieutenant Hart is at once thrust into the social order of POWs, where every man thinks of himself first with bribery and trading with German captors commonplace. When two African American pilots become the first non-white soldiers in the camp, one is murdered and the other accused of killing a white sergeant. Lieutenant Hart must then defend the black pilot against charges before an obviously racist American tribunal; unaware that the trial itself is only a front for the real secret of the prison camp.

(Summary written by Anthony Hughes.)

As the Americans consolidated the position in Belgium, the young Lt. Thomas Hart is captured by German soldiers. After a brief interrogation, he is sent to Stalag VI. After lying during his debrief to the ranking POW, he is sent to bunk with the enlisted men. Shortly after his arrival, he and his men are forced to share their billet with two downed Allied pilots. The fact that they are black begins the start of their problems.

It is not long before the dead body of a racist antoganist turns up and one of the black officers stands accused of the crime. Lt. Hart is forced by Col. McNamara to defend the officer. With friction playing up between Hart and McNamara, set against the backdrop of the German POW camps and the racial divisions the American’s brought from home, a court martial seems unlikely to find the truth of the murder.

This film I enjoyed. It seemed to come and go quite quickly from the cinema’s but I guess that’s Hong Kong. It is also continuing a line of war films coming out from the US. The premise of this film, however, is not based in fact which means that history is saved from the usual American whitewash of the facts to suit their patriotic needs.

In fact, it deals very much with the issue of what it means to be an American. It raises the issue of segregation and how it travelled to the war camps. Ironically, black or white, they were fighting against the tyranny of fascism.

The film also touches on the idea of responsibility and accountability. Both Hart and McNamara have to face tough decisions about what it means to be an officer and to sit in the leadership role. A key theme in the film is the idea that “one man must sometimes be sacrificed to save the lives of many”. This is a basic principle that forms a keystone in military thought.

The acting and casting were okay. Bruce Willis still retains his hard-assed role but on the other hand, he isn’t the hero of the story. Colin Farrell plays the role of a token lieutenant well, demonstrating his shortcomings and insecurities with ease. However, his character’s development to a strong, moral centre as a leader who deserves respect is a little unconvincing. Marcel Iures plays the German commandant. Whether it was his acting or the scripting, I’m not too sure, but his portrayal of the character left me neither feeling horrified at him nor particularly warm to him (the film tries to do both).

The one problem I have with the film is that it takes on some meaty issues but too many of them. It needed to focus on only few to make a valid point. At the moment, it deals with none with any great depth. However, the film is enjoyable and I would recommend it an evening’s entertainment.

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