The Monuments Men

Synopsis: The true story of seven museum directors who, during World War II, were sent to the front line to try to rescue some of the world’s most precious artworks from the Nazis and return them to their rightful owners.

George Clooney’s latest directorial effort is somewhat of a cross between Ocean’s Eleven and Saving Private Ryan – part heist comedy and part WWII drama - never falling neatly into any one category but entertaining enough in its own right. It is very much a “boy’s own adventure” type of yarn, featuring  a clutch of well-known Hollywood players – George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, along with French heart-throb, Jean Du Jardin. The only female is Cate Blanchett and she feels somewhat of token presence despite doing, as always, a sterling acting job.

The film opens with priests in Ghent, Belgium, trying to hide the famed altarpiece. In essence this iconic artwork bookends the film, but the many other pieces referenced to or shown (copies of course) makes the film a treat for art lovers. Clooney plays Frank Stokes, a prominent art historian who in putting the rescue mission together, utters the lapidary words that if a people's art, culture and achievements are destroyed, then they may as well have never existed. (Whilst this was true for the Nazi era, it is still relevant today, when, in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, priceless treasures are still being looted or destroyed).

Much of the fun of the film comes from the fact that all the characters are so ill-suited to being soldiers in the war. Academics or museum boffins, they only rise to the occasion because of their profound devotion to Europe’s artistic heritage.

Stylistically the film relies heavily upon the conventions of classic 1950s war films, such as Bridge on the River Kwai, with their idealized camaraderie between men bonded by their implacable commitment to a noble cause, the whole thing underpinned by stirring music (in this case by the ever-creative Alexandre Desplat). Although the war film clichés are used knowingly and probably a bit tongue-in-cheek, the film is a far cry from Clooney’s more politically sceptical directorial gigs, The Ides Of March and Goodnight, And Good Luck.

The Monuments Men certainly looks good, with slick cinematography and authentic settings (much of it is shot in Germany).  And while there is really nothing original about any aspect of the film, it remains engaging, with solid ensemble playing between all the actors and with touches of black humour well employed to relieve the tension. Moments of sentimentality feel a bit forced, as does the possibility of a romance between Blanchett’s character and one of the men, a ruse, one feels, which was probably added to leaven the blokey heroics. 

Overall, for fans of the actors concerned, war movie buffs, and art lovers in general The Monuments Men should prove an enjoyable, if lightweight, experience.

Want more about this film?

Want something different?