When I was a kid, this was one of my favorite films. Bizarre childhood? Nah, not me. Perhaps I could blame this mean-spirited, sarcastic movie about a German prison camp during World War Two for the mean-spirited, sarcastic adult I grew up to be. Seriously, though, this film is a genuinely brilliant mix of comedy, tragedy and politics, daring to challenge the Audie Murphy-style myths about American servicemen during the war. The inmates in this prison camp are fallible individuals with senses of humor and other human qualities far beneath your average cinematic war hero. And on top of everything else, there’s a bit of an espionage mystery behind it all and a valuable lesson in the end about the difference between seeming guilty and actually being guilty. Billy Wilder was in top form when he cranked this one out. Worth seeing
Media criticism. Pop culture snark. And movie reviews. Lots and lots of movie reviews.
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