Friday

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Lions for Lambs, and I'm not entirely sure what I got. On first hearing of the film I thought, 'directed by Robert Redford, this will be a left-wing movie condemning the war', but with all the Oscar buzz and the big name actors, I for some reason began to think 'this must be a pro-war film'. After watching it last night, I still don't know which one it is. You may know that I've been wanting to see more films produced that deal with the Iraq war, and this wish is slowly coming true. It may be that this is the best of them. I was impressed by the format. The film takes place almost in real time over about an hour, dealing with three scenarios: a journalist interviewing a pro-war senator, a professor meeting with one of his students, and two soldiers stranded in Afghanistan. The limited scale and scope of the movie almost makes it seem like a play. I'd have to say, however, that the dialogue just isn't quite there. I am in some ways glad, though, that this film isn't clearly pro- or anti-war. It condemns the reasons for going to war, but then hesitates - what do we do now? This film seems to be a question rather than an answer. The war on terror cannot be won, and in a similar way this film doesn't conclude. I suppose I have to say I liked it. It wasn't as patriotic as I thought it might be, nor as left-wing as I feared it could be. As a 'movie' movie, if you know what I mean, it probably fails, but it's an interesting work of art tackling contemporary issues. If it has a message, it's 'do something with your abilities, make a difference', and that doesn't appear to have any political bias.