Over the years, Stanley Kubrick has earned a reputation for being one of the great masters of the cinema. He has found critical, popular and cult success with his films which often are considered classics in their genres.
"Dr. Strangelove" is commonly held to be a landmark in political satire; "2001: A Space Odyssey" has been deemed one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time; "A Clockwork Orange" is essential to any cult film collection and "The Shining" has become a horror film classic.
As for the war genre, "Paths of Glory," Kubrick's dark and haunting vision of power games in World War I, deserves as much recognition as some of his other masterpieces.
The film follows the plight of a French World War I battalion attempting to keep up morale in the trenches. Facing public scrutiny in the press, the French army insists on making a bold and unreasonable attack against contested territory referred to as The Anthill.
When the effort fails, the complex political system of the army goes to great lengths to preserve its pride by creating scapegoats: three foot soldiers chosen at random to be executed for cowardice.
Kirk Douglas stars as Colonel Dax, the commander and advocate of the three soldiers. Dax is not swayed by political pressures but by moral pressures. He is abhorred by the army's decision to murder three arbitrary soldiers for the sake of setting an example.
However, Dax is working against group mentality in the army, and his fight for justice is as hard as his fight for The Anthill.
The film expertly presents the notion that the army is far more than an assembly of soldiers battling a common enemy. The army is an institution which must win on the battlefield and in the newspapers. An image of bravery and strength must be sustained at all times, and when this appearance is threatened, those who can be blamed will be blamed. Loyalty is thrown out the window in favor of preservation.
Kubrick skillfully builds momentum and tension throughout the film that finally breaks in a powerful and devastating scene in which a German woman (Susanne Christian), with tears in her eyes, sings to the downtrodden troops. At first the men catcall and whistle and cheer bawdily, but then this rare glimpse of beauty which has been so absent in their lives suddenly touches them, and for a moment they are not soldiers but humans.
Ultimately, the film is about killing the human spirit. The foot soldiers are dehumanized by the death all around them, but they are not the only ones who have lost sight of the value of human life.
The generals and high ranking officials, who live in posh houses and attend elegant balls amidst the battles, are also dehumanized. To them, death is a tool--both militarily and politically. They have no regard for the human being but for the military.
This harsh indictment of the military raises many questions about bravery and righteousness. At one point, angered by a group that cannot leave the trenches due to heavy gunfire, a tyrannical general (George Macready) opens fire on his own men.
The general claims he is punishing the men's cowardice, but are these soldiers really learning to be courageous or simply to be scared? And why does it matter if these soldiers are courageous? The answer is because it would make the army look good and the general better.
One interesting aspect of the picture is the way Kubrick films different environments. In the most physically dangerous areas such as battlefields and trenches, the camera glides smoothly and effortlessly.
However, the camera is noticeably still during intense human interaction scenes where words are the killers, not bullets. This method subtly suggests that the real danger doesn't come from combat, but from the ones who put the people in combat.
"Paths of Glory" has few moments of optimism, but the film is not depressing. In some ways it is slightly uplifting in that Dax is able to preserve his moral grounds, even in times of great strain. Nevertheless, the film is staggeringly good and reminds us that all is not fair in love and war.
"Paths of Glory" is playing tonight in Spaulding at 6:45 p.m. and will be followed by Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" at 8:30 p.m.
