"The Monuments Men" at Durham Library Thursday

Movie Notes by Don Bourret

The Monuments Men is in many ways a throwback to the old style of moviemaking, uncomplicated in its morality and sentiments, and great fun to watch. Produced, directed, co-written and starring George Clooney, the film is infused with his signature brand of wry, irreverent humor while dealing with an important and significant theme.

In the middle of WWII, art historian Frank Stokes (Clooney) assembles a task force of seven art experts – museum directors, curators, and art historians – to head a program called the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archive Program. They are tasked with searching out and finding pieces of art and other culturally important items that Hitler is stealing en masse and intending to destroy. They then must guide Allied units to retrieve those treasures so that they can be returned to their rightful owners, often meeting resistance from commanders unwilling to adjust their plans for new strategic objectives they deem frivolous.

This is a great true-life story explored in the 2006 documentary The Rape Of Europa and based on a book by Robert Edsel. This film has been criticized for its superficial and episodic treatment of important matters and fictionalizing the names of the real characters. But for my money, that is too much of a purist’s point of view. I think the movie should be enjoyed on its own merits. Deliberately old fashioned, it is a buddy movie, a war movie, a heist movie, a suspense thriller and even in its own way a civics lesson.

It has some war scenes and liberation scenes with the traditional cast of thousands to astound. And it has formidable star power. In addition to Clooney, you have Matt Damon, Cate Blanchette, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin (Oscar winner for The Artist) and Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey). They all have their moments: some funny, some sentimental, some exciting, some tragic. In the DVD’s Bonus Feature they all praise Director Clooney for assuring that everyone, cast and crew alike, enjoyed the process and had fun making the film. And this sense of fun comes across on the screen.

At the end President Truman asks Stokes if saving these art treasures was worth all the lives lost in doing so. Stokes has his opinion. You can decide for yourself while you enjoy the film.