The Writer's Poke

When I was writing my review about Platoon (1986) this week, I noted that a lot of American war films do not present both sides of the battle; so, with that freshly in mind, I was interested that this film does include at least a bit of the German perspective. And to be quite honest, the Germans are portrayed quite decently, or at least as no better and no worse than the Allies.  At one point, the Germans try to surrender to Lt. Col. Frost (Anthony Hopkins), but he tells them to go to hell. In response, the Germans act shocked. They were trying to play by the rules of war, and the Allies refused to follow those rules. It was only then that the German Field Commander said, Fine, destroy the city.  Until that point, you get the idea at least that Germany occupied The Netherlands, but they didn't turn it into a parking lot or rubble.  At another moment in the film, a German commander gave Allied prisoners chocolate. I mean, it's small things like that humanize the Germans, b...

"Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we could not see too far down the road." -- Karen, reflecting on what Denys had taught her. Karen (Meryl Streep) is a rich Danish woman. She wants to be married. She leaves Denmark and goes to Africa to get married and start a farm. The year is 1913, and European colonialization is a fact. If this is an autobiographical account of an upper-class Danish writer, then it should reflect her experiences and point of view. The beginning of the film suggests that Karen has had many lovers, and she's written about them all. Denys (Robert Redford), however, might be the most important one, and the one that's she's saved writing about for last. The setting, then, may be Africa, but this is not a story about Africans. It's about what she learned about herself, love and romance, and perhaps, life; and maybe she was only able to learn about it in Africa, because this is the only place that a man like D...