🚀 go-pugleaf

The Tech people I talk to all seem to think that the a nation's population
is useful for "innovation."  They are so deluded.  Human capital has
always been about three things: tax revenue, consumption, and cannon
fodder (even in this age of drones and AI).

Streaming _Women at War_, a piece of fluff about WWI on the Western front,
I felt obliged to watch the brutal _All Quiet on the Western Front_, also
on Netflix.  And then there is the mother of all cartoonish comics, _The
Woman King_.  All give different perspectives on the Ukraine war, which
is said to resemble static WWI trench warfare in a world order that also
increasingly resembles the pre-WWI configuration.

Collectively, they remind me that Terrence Malick's _The Thin Red Line_
is the greatest war film of all time.  It has only grown in stature and
power in the last quarter century.  Not only is it visceral and poetic;
the many philosophical debates among the characters make this by far
the most complete cinematic treatise on war.  The relevant element
here is the idea that commanders are parent-figures, which is such a
lie because they send their troops out to die, get maimed, or imprisoned
by enemies. Captain Staros does his best to protect his company C, but
that also makes him an ineffective leader.  Colonel Tall is vainglorious
and ruthless, but his tactics break the Japanese line, albeit at immense
cost.  And then there is George Clooney's general who likens himself
to the infantrymen's father.  Clooney is so smarmy you want to punch
him just as a matter of general principle, but here he surpasses himself
in the slimball department.  But there is a war to be won.  The second
worst thing we can do is to fight a war.  Unfortunately, the worst thing
happens to be to lose a war.  We are stuck with characters like these.
(But there are also the Jim Caviezel and Sean Penn characters, the
true heroes.)

The stars in _Women at War_ are prostitutes-turned-ambulance drivers,
factory owners, a doctor on the run, and a nun caring for mutilated
French soldiers.  There is plenty of romance, a mother looking for
long-lost son who has become an officer, a general sending his son
to die.  This is a theme covered far more deeply (if metaphorically)
in TTRL of course.  The battle and hospital scenes are quite gruesome
and does justice to the war (although there is no trench warfare).
The highlights of this soapy melodrama are Florence Loiret-Caille,
who has a minor role as the villainous brothel co-owner, and Audrey
Fleurot as the prostitute.  Fleurot is clearly the biggest TV star
here (eclipsing Sandrine Bonnaire), and her range is impressive.
With her stark red hair and deep green eyes, you wonder why she
hasn't been cast as a space alien, or Bond lady.

The 2022 version of _All Quiet on the Western Front_ plays up the
absurdity of war and the villainy of those who exploited nationalism
to rile up young men and enlisted them for senseless warfare.  All
perfectly valid points, but it omits the sheer necessity of repelling
invaders.  (Although this German film is shot from the Germans '
perspective and they were the invaders.)  WWI belonged to that
technological glitch of an era where offense is stymied by defense
(the opposite of WWII).  The suffering of those stuck in water- and
rat-infested trenches, haunted by artillery barrage, was uniquely
inhuman (not that the sufferings in any other era were better, just
different).  There were also deaths by gas attacks, flame-throwers,
bayonet, artillery strike, and the old favorite -- the ubiquitous
machine gun mowing down soldiers in no-man's-land variety.  It
is the antidote in an era where so much of cinema (especially
that from the People's Republic of China) glorifies war.  But
the deadliest adversary to our protagonist turns out to be an
catatonic 10-year-old.  In a senseless attack on the eve of
the Armistice which ends up in a giant water-filled crater,
he rediscovers his humanity.  A few French Saint-Chamond tanks
make an appearance; these slow moving land leviathans with 75mm
guns that can hurl high explosive shells are particularly deadly
to the Germans, and have never been in movies before.  They point
the way to the coming slaughter where armor reigned.

Sometimes a single scene in a director's ouvre eloquently
disqualifies him/her from being considered a legitimate auteur.
In Gina Prince-Bythewood's case it would be the scene in _The
Woman King_ where a woman soldier sticks her fingers into her
enemy's eyes, killing him.  Most of that is suggested (the film
is PG-13), but the shot is unmistakably played for exciting,
glorious, revenge-fueled action.  It normalizes the most horrific
aspects of war.  Prince-Bythewood should watch _All Quiet_ 10
times in a row to atone for her sins.

At least the "king" aspects of Viola Davis' character turns
out to be a honorific, and is not brought up until the very
end.  But the young heroine being the old heroine's daughter
trope is pure Marvel Comics (and _Star Wars_ and countless
pop culture corn).  Suggested punishment -- watch _The Thin
Red Line_ 10 times and see how that theme should have been
handled.