Alan and I went to see the Monuments Men movie on Valentine's Day. I was really eager to see it after having read the book a few months ago. For those of you who have not seen the ads, it is based on the true story of the men sent to try to save the works of art that were either being plundered by the Nazis or destroyed by the war.
I found the book (The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by M. Edsel) to be fascinating. The "heroes" were museum curators, architects, and others with wide knowledge of the treasures involved. They were tasked with finding where the works of art were hidden, either by the local people or the Nazis; try to keep the Allies from bombing there; and ultimately to return them to their rightful owners after the war. They often were ahead of the troops, working with the resistance. Because the book covers a huge scope of the work of these people, it is more historical, than personal. We don't find out a lot about their lives.
In the movie, George Clooney decided to focus on the personal and bring the scope much smaller, focusing only on a portion of the work they did. The huge amount of work in Italy isn't even mentioned. However, I understand why he did it. It told the story of what these people did, while still making us see the importance and historical significance of their tasks. He did an excellent job of incorporating historic photographs of the real monuments men and their work. He did try to incorporate humor, which really detracted from and in some ways trivialized the story--something the reviews have rightfully criticized him for.
If you are interested in what was true or not true in the movie, there is a great website to check out: Monuments Men Movie: What is fact? What is fiction?
So, in the end I would really recommend the book over the movie, but then, it was a fun and interesting "date" for Valentine's Day.
Note to Kingporters: The book is available both in hard copy and in electronic version from the Kingsport Public Library.
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3 comments:
Jim is reading the book, Marcia and I saw the movie. I agree about trying to incorporate humor. One moment it is Ocean's Eleven, as one critic noted, with light-hearted music and then horrific scenes. If the movie had carried through with the drama as with the scenes with Cate Blanchett's character, it would have felt more true for me.
Rhoda -- there was an article in Sunday's Parade magazine about the book. It was an interview with Robert Edsel about his book. You can view some of the recovered artworks at parade.com/art. I have signed up with our library to get the book. Thanks for your comments.
Rosemary
Thanks, I'll check that out!
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