We Were Soldiers

This film isn't exactly haunting but a day later it is still bouncing around in my head. I was thrown at first by this film. I guess I had expected a straightforward documentary style film because the story is based on true events, specifically the Battle of Ia Drang as recounted by Lieutenant Colonel Moore and journalist Joseph Galloway. Instead it is told in a traditional war film format and plays very heavily on the theme of soldier as family man who honorably fulfills both roles. We get to know the conflict, we are introduced to the soldiers who will go to the front, we meet the wives who will wait and pray from home, we meet the old weathered sergeant major, we watch as the young untested sergeant matures in the heat of the fight, etc. I was thoroughly sucked in and invested in all the action and the consequences. Mel Gibson's gravely voiced Moore is charming, caring, forceful, nurturing, brave and above all realistic about what he and his boys may face. I really liked Gibson in this role. The score by Nick Glennie-Smith is terrific and worth taking a second listen to on its own. The battle sequences are vicious and show, much like Band of Brothers, how confusing an actual battle can be and how necessary a great leader is in the heat of the moment and how tremendous the sacrifices are made by the boys on the front line. This is very much the true details of war through Hollywood's distorted lens. It definitely makes the horror palatable but still serves to tell us about people and places very far removed from our safe quiet lives which is probably the most important role of the war film.
Memorable moment: Moore's pre-deployment speech (minus the annoying chin strap).
Film # 104