While the theme of Kubrick's film is about war, there are several other very important elements in the film - law (court-martial), religion (priests), and art (song) - which are Human society is a vital issue and field! And the name of the movie is "Road to Glory", so for these fields that can play a key role in the development of human society, which one can lead us to "Glory", I think we can get some answers from the film.
war--
War is the most evil and cruel thing born in human society-massacres of the same kind, why is it also associated with "glory"? In fact, the answer is obvious. When war is put on the cloak of patriotism and nationalism, it will be transformed into a cause that symbolizes the glory of Zhigao!
But does war exist for our lovely compatriots? Is it for our parents and siblings?
In the film, in the face of General George's almost impossible order to capture "Ante Mountain", General Paul initially refused, but when General George offered a promotion promise, General Paul's attitude suddenly changed , willing to try his best, and claiming that this decision has nothing to do with promotion; in the second half of the film, through the dialogue between General George and Colonel Dax, we learn that the reason why the French military wants to launch this battle and is bound to win is to eliminate the Pressure from politicians and public opinion. And only when General Paul goes to the front line to boost morale, will the wonderful words such as courage, defending the homeland, and glory get the chance to appear!
But what right do these soldiers have to say and decide whether to start a war? And for those big men who really hold power, war is just a means for personal gain - at the cost of indistinguishable lives of enemies and friends!
law--
The law may be the most dazzling sign of the so-called civilized society of human society! Is the law that represents the progress and civilization of mankind, and that it claims to have the highest authority and bring about equality, the road to glory for mankind?
Orders that rely solely on personal desires rather than rational judgments will have a high probability of failure. The "Ants Mountain" campaign falls into this category. In order to cover up his mistakes, General Paul attributed the reason to the cowardice of the soldiers, so a military court was temporarily set up to judge individual unfortunate soldiers who were singled out. A tool to manipulate at will!
In the face of this desperate and suffocating ugliness, Kubrick protested and complained through the mouth of Colonel Dax, who was protecting the interests of the soldiers: "The failure of Operation Antshan is not a stain and shame on the people of the country, but this military court Its existence is the stain and shame of the people of the whole country, and its judgment is a mockery of human justice!"
religion--
The tribunal, which symbolized a mockery of human justice, sentenced three soldiers to death, and before they were executed, a priest was sent to appease them. Soldier A (referring to) cried bitterly in the face of the priest because of the fear of death, and asked the priest, "I have done nothing wrong, why should I die?", "I am very afraid... I can't help but be afraid", The priest replied, "People will eventually face death... God's own will", "This man will die, please give him strength", and has been asking Soldier A to be strong. When the priest asked Soldier B, the most stable of the three, if he needed to listen to his confession, Soldier B replied, "I'm not very religious. If I confessed now, I would feel very hypocritical." ... Then Soldier C said Angrily shouted at the priest, "My faith is this bottle of wine... leave with your hypocrisy!"
In fact, the different attitudes of the three soldiers towards religion almost represent the attitude of the public towards religion. I personally respect the beliefs of absolutely everyone, and I can understand that religions have prepared a set of theories in order to maintain the authority of "God", but I must also point out that in the face of evil and inequality in this world, religion is in fact It is powerless on the level, but it is indeed hypocritical for religion to turn the contradiction to the spiritual level and deny the fact in order to cover up the powerlessness of the factual level!
Art--
Finally, in a small military condolence performance, the host asked a captured German woman to sing for the soldiers. Facing the beautiful woman who was captured again, the soldiers under the stage made a wolf-like whistle and a leopard-like whistle. Cheers, as if this prey with nowhere to go is going to be swallowed alive in the next moment! The woman was really frightened, she cried and sang a song (it should be a song that is popular in France and Germany), but at this moment, the soldiers slowly quieted down and began to hum together, Some had serious expressions, and some even had tears in their eyes.
I think, those tears are the thoughts of the soldiers for their loved ones, their families, and their peace! Those tears are the mark of hope that we have finally found the way of redemption and glory - art - after witnessing the glory bubbles of war, law and religion!
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