Saints and Soldiers is a war film released by Excel Entertainment Group in August 2004. The film is about a small group of soldiers who are trapped deep behind enemy lines following the infamous Malmedy massacre that took place during World War II's Battle of the Bulge. The soldiers have vital enemy intelligence in their possession and decide to deliver it to the front lines, over 20 miles away. Success would require surviving the roving German troops and the frigid Ardennes forest. Armed with only one rifle, the men meet obstacle after obstacle, and must deal with the challenges, as well as the tension between their conflicting emotions. Things get increasingly more desperate until the climactic showdown with the German Army that tests the courage, honor, and camaraderie of the men.
Plot
The film opens three weeks after the Malmedy massacre (presumably January 14 - January 15, 1945) with American forces documenting the scene and recovering the bodies. Exposition is provided by a radio broadcast from London explaining what has happened and that those responsible will be found and dealt with appropriately.
The film then goes to the day of the Malmedy massacre, December 17, 1944. The four initial, main characters receive some screen time, and all but one have some dialogue as they stand in a group as prisoners of war. Suddenly, one of the unnamed soldiers breaks from the group and attempts to escape. A German soldier screams for him to halt, and when he doesn't, he's gunned down. The remainder of the prisoners become restless, and a German officer fires a few bursts into the air. In response, a panic begins to break out. During a sudden scramble, an Allied prisoner grabs a rifle from a German soldier and shoots him with it. Another German, in turn, kills that soldier. As a result, some of the prisoners break to run, while a few try to stay put and keep calm. But when the Germans open fire on the prisoners, the entire group of Allied prisoners break and run. (See Malmedy massacre below.) Roughly half of them make it to the woods, and the rest die.
A German soldier manages to find Gould and another soldier hiding in the woods behind a fallen tree. The two surrender but the German shoots the other soldier with Gould, so Gould takes cover again. As the German is slowly advancing in order to shoot Gould, Deacon jumps the German and takes his rifle. The German surrenders, and Deacon lets him run off into the woods. Gould protests this by insisting that the German should have been killed. This sets up the initial tension between Gould and Deacon.
Back at the site of the massacre, two Germans are seen shooting survivors. The Germans then leave in a convoy. Kendrick, who has been feigning dead, gets up and runs in to the forest.
Gould and Deacon are soon joined by two other survivors of the massacre. They introduce themselves to each other (but where they are from actually comes later). Private Steven Gould (Alexander Niver) is a Medic from Brooklyn Heights, New York City. He introduces Private Shirley "Shirl" Kendrick (Lawrence Bagby), who is also with the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion from Louisiana. Staff Sergeant Gordon Gunderson[2] (Peter Holden) with the 101st Airborne Division is from the south side of Chicago. He introduces Corporal Nathan "Deacon" Greer (Corbin Allred) also with the 101st from Snowflake, Arizona. The others see Deacon looking at a photo of his wife.[3]
Kendrick wants to immediately rejoin his unit, but Gunderson figures that since they're behind enemy lines and that the rifle that they have only has four shots, they'll have a better chance of surviving if they hide out until the allies take over the territory again. They assume this will only be a couple of days. They walk for a bit and soon find an abandoned building and hide out in it. While hiding, a German patrol comes along, so the soldiers hide under the floor while the Germans occupy the upstairs room and eat a meal. Suddenly, they all hear a distant explosion and Deacon overhears (and understands) the German radio conversation about a plane crashing. The Germans then leave. The Americans emerge and decide to leave as well.
The American soldiers find a British pilot who parachuted from the crashing plane, RAF pilot, Flight Sergeant Oberon Winley. When the Americans release the parachute harness, Winley falls down and immediately grabs Kendrick, holding a pistol to him. Winley demands proof that the men who cut him down are indeed Americans, and not Germans in disguise. Eventually, Winley is convinced and lets Kendrick go. Winley also refuses to share his cigarettes with Kendrick, setting up some tension between the two of them.
It soon becomes known that Winley had been sent on a mission to gather intelligence about this German advance and had found out that it was a major offensive. (This offensive later becomes known as the "Battle of the Bulge".) Winley had been shot down by a German fighter before he'd been able to get back across the line. These five must then get to where they can get the intelligence back to Allied troops while the German panzer divisions are advancing in the same direction. The line is currently about 15 to 20 miles away, and Winley is the only one who can interpret the notes that he took in the plane.
Deacon hasn't slept for three or four days and Gould has noticed that Deacon is very edgy. He tells Gunderson about this and suggests that it might be a bad idea to have the rifle in Deacon's possession. Gunderson assures Gould that Deacon should keep the rifle because, "he's the best shot I know." Gould is still unhappy. Shortly afterward, Deacon has a hallucination in the woods and breaks down. Gould is infuriated by this. Gunderson sits down with Gould and quietly explains why Deacon is so edgy.
- "Last Thursday, we ran into some Krauts in a little town in the Elsenborn Ridge. They were pulling out, but this one little bastard was holed-up inside a church. I sent Deacon to take him out. It was dark in there. Somebody took a shot at him. So he threw in a grenade, sprayed the room. Went up and took the guy out. In the room ... was two women and six kids. It was a mess. When it was over, Deac just... flipped out. Our C.O. gave me a jeep to have him checked out at St. Vith. We got captured about an hour before you guys ran into them at Malmedy. You don't mention this to him. Do you understand me, Gould?"
Afterward, the men move on, but Kendrick suddenly falls through the roof of an old building that had been covered by the snow. Due to his accident, they decide to search for shelter. Eventually, they come across a house and hide in the ground floor room. When Gunderson hears opera music coming from the upstairs, he investigates. There he finds a woman and girl who speak French, Catherine and Sophie Theary, respectively. He brings them down and introduces them to the other soldiers. Catherine kisses each of the soldiers on each cheek, but Sophie kisses Deacon, and only Deacon. Catherine and Sophie then leave. This encounter affects Deacon, and he is then able to sleep for the first time in days.[4]
The snow storm gets worse, so Gunderson figures that the Germans will be pinned down and immobile. He suggests staying the night where they are. But Winley insists that he must get the information to the Allied troops so he leaves during the storm, knowing that he probably won't make it. The others are sure he will die in the cold.
When the storm lets up a little, Catherine brings some bread to the soldiers. While she is feeding the soldiers, two Germans arrive in a vehicle. To divert the Germans from the room where the Americans are hiding, she goes out to talk to them. One of the Germans is scouting the building while the other takes an interest in Catherine as a woman and tries to rape her. She yells, and Deacon hears the screams. Deacon bursts out of the building and tells the Germans to surrender. The second German, who had come to see about the commotion, drops his rifle. The one holding Catherine pulls his pistol and Deacon shoots him. The other soldier flees. Deacon goes for the German soldier's rifle, and shoots several times but misses. Gunderson runs after the escaping German soldier, but fails to find him.
Winley arrives shortly thereafter, with a German prisoner, the one who had escaped. Gould, Gunderson, Kendrick and Winley are vigorously debating whether to shoot the German now or not. When the German looks up, Deacon recognizes him and says "Rudi?" Deacon and Rudi hug, talk briefly in German and then Deacon introduces him as Rudolph Gertz. Deacon tells them that while a missionary in Berlin, he had taught Rudi's family. The fact Deacon had missed shooting Rudi is seen as a freak coincidence. Enthusiastic to see each other, Deacon and Rudi sit against the wall opposite the door and talk most of the night while the others sit at a table discussing the two of them. Catherine visits them later, giving each of the Allied soldiers a cookie and a special German pastry to Rudi.[5] Rudi uses the tinfoil that was used to wrap the pastry to form the figure of an angel. At midnight, Gould begins his turn at watch.
In the morning, before sunrise, Sophie discovers the tin angel on a window sill outside of the building. Gould (who has the watch) wakes up and discovers that Rudi is gone. He immediately accuses Deacon of having let him go, but Gunderson defends Deacon. Deacon then admits that he had let Rudi go, in exchange for information. Rudi has told Deacon where the German troops are massed and has suggested a route to get through the lines, about five miles away.
The German vehicle is almost out of gasoline, so they raid it for weapons and set out on the route that they have been given. They soon come upon a small group of German soldiers. While they are deciding whether to wait or to go around, Gunderson is fatally shot from the other direction and despite an attempt by Gould to treat him, dies within a few seconds. Deacon chases the sniper and kills him, but the other Germans become aware of the gunfire, seek out its source and begin firing on the Allied soldiers. Winley is hit in the leg, and as a result is slowed down. After much running, the Allied soldiers manage to make it to the remains of a stone building where Gould removes the bullet from Winley's leg. They exchange fire with the Germans and kill many of them. The soldiers manage to escape in two groups. While carrying Winley, A German soldier fires at the two and hits Kendrick in the stomach, fatally wounding him. The scene momentarily switches to Gould and Deacon running down a shollow trench with Germans pursuing them. They kill the pursuing Germans with a grenade, then continue running. The scene then switiches back to Winley. Winley draws out his pistol and in turn kills the German who shot Kendrick. In sorrow, Winley breaks down as he attempts to give dying Kendrick a smoke, but his lighter fails to ignite, and Kendrick dies as Winley attempts to light his cigarette. Winley manages to make it a little further but falls in a stream. Deacon and Gould find him on the bank, wet and very cold. While they are caring for Winley, Rudolph "Rudi" Gertz finds them. He tells them where a jeep is that they can use, and goes off in the direction of the pursuing Germans.
The three remaining Allied soldiers strip three dead German soldiers for their uniforms, don the uniforms and equip themselves with weapons found on the dead Germans, and take the jeep. The German front line is about half-a-mile away, and the trio knows that they must find a way to get through it without being killed. When they reach the Germans, they are ordered to stop. They tell the German officer who stopped that they need to get to a field medical station. He points them in the direction they need to go, then asks Gould a question in German which he cannot respond to. To grab the officer's attention, Deacon yells something in German, asking for help with the jeep in the mud. In response, several German soldiers start pushing the jeep out of the mud that it is resting in. As Deacon clears the mud, and heads down another road toward the American lines, it becomes clear to the German officer that the three men are not who they appear to be. He and the surrounding Germans open fire as Deacon, Gould, and Winley speed off.
The Allied forward observers see the Allied jeep with men in German uniforms approaching, but don't quite know what to do. Seeing a Nazi flag in the hood, they try to stop the jeep with mortar fire. The soldiers survive a crash into a ditch, and begin exchanging fire with the Germans. When the American troops see them fighting other Germans, they decide that they must be Allied and they provide cover fire. Many Germans die in this skirmish. Deacon tells Gould to take Winley and go; he'll be right behind. However, Deacon is killed by a German sniper. Gould manages to escape with Winley. They reach the allies, who take the two of them prisoner because they are wearing German uniforms. Shortly, Winley is sent off in a jeep with his information.
The Allied troops are able to take the territory some time later. With the fighting over, Gould walks over to a body bag and lifts the cover, and sees Deacon's body. Gould takes the small Bible that Deacon had offered him earlier, but leaves the photo in it with Deacon's body. Some German prisoners then walk by under the guard of Allied soldiers. One of them is Rudi. Gould nods at him and Rudi smiles. Gould, who hated all Germans at the beginning, then goes to treat a wounded German soldier.
This turns out to be the same German soldier who hit Gould with his rifle in the opening scene and was later jumped by Deacon after he killed a soldier standing next to Gould when they tried to surrender. They recognize each other but, Gould kneels down to treat his wounds.[6] The film ends as the scene shows a long Allied convoy heading down the road.
Cast
- Corbin Allred as Corporal Nathan "Deacon" Greer - The main protagonist of the film. Deacon is referred to as such because he does not drink, smoke or even consume coffee, and Gundy admits that Deacon is the most accurate rifleman he has ever seen. He apparently did missionary work in Berlin, where he met Rudi. He suffers from shell-shock in the form of frightening and disturbing visions as a result of his accidental killing of a group of innocent women and children. He is also very religious and carries a bible, a source of disdain from Gould. The two had an antagonistic relationship through much of the film, also due to Deacon's friendship with a German, but in the end Deacon provides cover fire for a fleeing Gould and Winley and is shot dead in the process. As he dies, he has a vision of the innocents he killed, apparently waiting for him in the afterlife.
- Alexander Polinsky as Private Steven Gould (credited as Alexander Niver) - A medic in the captured platoon. He meets up with Deacon and Gunderson early on, and immediately recognizes Deacon's severe case of shellshock. Gould is skeptical of Deacon's devout religious attitude, but other than that, does not interact much with the other men. He tried to dodge the draft, but was found by his father and forced into the army. At one point, Gould watched a young soldier die while calling out to God, an experience that made Gould an atheist. Gould displays animosity towards Deacon much of the time until the final shootout with the Germans. He escapes with Winley to the nearby American camp while Deacon covers him, and watches in horror as Deacon is killed. In the final scene, Gould takes Deacon's bible, finally opening up to religion.
- Kirby Heyborne as Flight Sergeant Oberon Winley - A British airplane pilot who is discovered by the wandering Americans. He gathered crucial knowledge about a German camp but was shot down. The Americans decide to help Winley transport his information to the nearest American camp. To make his survival more crucial to the others, Winley writes in a code only he understands. He develops a sort of friendship with Kendrick, annoying him initially by nicknaming him "Hickey" and denying him any cigarettes (Although it shows him smoking in many scenes of the movie, the cigarettes are actually fake, that in real life are called herbal cigarettes). After convincing the others to reveal deep secrets to him, he refuses the same to them, causing a deal of annoyance. Winley is shot in the leg by Germans and carried by Kendrick, who is killed while moving Winley into the forest. Winley, devastated, tries to continue on his own, falling into a river and nearly drowning, but is saved by Deacon and Gould, at which point he reveals that his secret is that he cannot swim. Winley falls unconscious and led to safety by Gould in the end, and presumably delivers his information.
- Larry Bagby as Private Shirley "Shirl" Kendrick (credited as Lawrence Bagby) - A big, amiable soldier from Louisiana who entertained others with a card trick. Kendrick reveals at one point that as a child, he sucked on a vacuum tube to create hickeys in order to convince others that he had a girlfriend. From this, Winley gives him the nickname "Hickey". This nickname, coupled with the fact that Winley refuses to give Kendrick any cigarettes, causes Winley to be a great annoyance to Kendrick. As Kendrick is the largest of the soldiers, he is tasked with carrying a wounded Winley, but is shot fatally by a German. Winley desperately gives Kendrick a final cigarette, but Kendrick dies before it can be lit.
- Peter Asle Holden as Staff Sergeant Gordon "Gundy" Gunderson (credited as Peter Holden) - The leader of the Americans, and the most level-headed. He does his best to ease the tension between the other men. Gunderson admits that Deacon has saved his life many times. When Winley asks the men to share deep secrets, he reveals that as a child, he was beaten up by a girl. Gunderson is shot dead by a German scout moments after stating that he wished to learn French.
- Ethan Vincent as Schütze Rudolph "Rudi" Gertz - A German soldier who is captured by Winley and brought to the others in the cellar of Catherine's home. Here, it is revealed that he met Deacon previously while Deacon was a missionary in Berlin. Deacon releases him from captivity after Rudi informs him of a route to an American camp the men could take. He is seen again after a shootout with the Germans, where he shows Deacon a German jeep he could take. In the final scene, Gould spots Rudi being taken away by American soldiers. The two nod to each other and smile.
- Melinda Renee as Catherine Theary - A Belgian woman who shelters the soldiers.
- Ruby Chase O'Neil as Sophie Theary - Catherine's young daughter.
Historical premise
Malmedy massacre
Ryan Little (director), Adam Abel (Producer) and Matt Whitaker (writer) give background and insight in to the film and its historicity on the commentary track of the DVD. In this commentary, before the massacre, after a shot of a German soldier lighting a cigarette for one of their prisoners, Whitaker and Little discussed the scene:
- Whitaker: "That shot right there, I just thought was so well .... I remember when you and I talked, Ryan, we talked about putting things in there showing a German lighting a cigarette for an American prisoner of war. And with that shot you kind of establish right off that this is not your typical war movie. This is not the bad guys/good guys. We're showing that there were levels and elements of good and bad, you know, in everybody there."
- Little: "Yeah, I think you're right. I think, you know .... When Geoffrey had done so much research on the Malmedy massacre, and presented it as the idea .... There are so many accounts about what happened. And, you know, it's interesting. We didn't know exactly where to kinda, you know, what point of view to take and so I guess we all, as we discussed it, we kinda decided that maybe more of a kinda neutral approach."
Actual events
At the beginning of the film is the text "based on actual events". Besides World War II, the Malmedy massacre and the Battle of the Bulge, the commentary mentions the following events that actually happened to soldiers in World War II:
- There was a group of Allied soldiers that hid under the floor of a building while some German soldiers had dinner in the room above them.
- An Allied sharpshooter had shot at, and missed, a German soldier. When that German soldier was later captured, he and the sharpshooter discovered that they were of the same faith.
- A German prisoner of war used some tin foil (that had wrapped something in the meal that he had eaten) to form the figure of an angel.
Production and release
Saints and Soldiers was released on video and DVD in May 2005. First-time director Ryan Little teamed up with actors Corbin Allred, Peter Holden, Alexander Niver, Kirby Heyborne, and Lawrence Bagby, along with a small production team to make the film. It was shot in the forested hills of northern Utah with a budget of less than $1 million. However, through special connections, the production team were able to obtain dozens of re-enactors, extras, and rare period equipment. The film was rated PG-13 for war violence and related images.
Production went smoothly and the film opened at film festivals nationwide, where it won 14 Best Picture Awards. It was the highest grossing film ever produced by Excel Entertainment. It grossed over $1 million.[citation needed]
Religious overtones
Although this film can be classified as a film about Allied soldiers during World War II, it can also be generalized to any soldier, from either side of the battlefield. Kendrick, Gunderson and Winley do not make any identifications regarding religion; Gould says that he does not believe in an afterlife. Deacon's religion is identified on the commentary track as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Clues of this are given in the film: he is from Snowflake, Arizona (founded and densely populated by Mormons), he served a mission to Berlin, Germany, every spare moment he is seen reading a small book and the following is said of him by Gunderson:
- "Deacon's the squarest guy I know. He's from some little backwards town in Arizona. Doesn't drink. Doesn't smoke. He doesn't even like coffee. That's why they call him "The Deacon"."
There is some antagonism between Gould and Deacon that comes to the surface several times during the film. But when it comes down to it, they protect each other, regardless of their differences. During an exchange during the film, Deacon offers Gould his Book of Mormon (which contains scriptures). Gould refuses, and Deacon responds by saying that for someone who isn't interested, Gould sure has a lot of questions. At the end of the film, Gould takes it from Deacon's front, right pocket.
At the same time, the film is produced by Excel Entertainment Group, which is a Mormon company making films which promote their values. Thus, one can interpret Gould's taking of Deacon's book as an attempt by the filmmakers to promote a Christian response to Atheism.
MPAA rating
Saints and Soldiers was originally rated "R" by the MPAA. The director, writers and producer wanted a rating of PG-13. The director had this to say on the commentary track of the DVD when Gunderson is fatally shot:
- Little: "The majority of the people who bought this are probably aware that Saints and Soldiers, when it was originally rated, received a "R" rating. And as we went through that process, for lack of a better term, went to war with the MPAA to find out what it was that we did that constituted a "R" rating, this was one of those scenes that came to them. And again, it came to personalized violence. They said, you care about these characters, and to see them die in a horrific way is worthy of this rating."
Some criticism has been leveled against the MPAA rating board with regard to them rating independent films more harshly than those of the large studios. (See also "LDS cinema and MPAA ratings".) Producers edited the film to receive PG-13 for commercial distribution.
References
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=saintsandsoldiers.htm
- ^ Named after Holden's grandfather who fought in the Battle of the Bulge — DVD commentary
- ^ This is an actual photo of Corbin Allred's maternal grandmother that his grandfather carried during World War II — DVD commentary
- ^ On the DVD commentary, this is specifically pointed out as giving Deacon enough relief to finally be able to sleep.
- ^ The director wanted the German pastry for Catherine to give to the German prisoner not realizing that it would be much larger than the cookies Catherine would be giving to the other soldiers.
- ^ DVD release of film
External links
