Movie DVD Review

Movie: When Trumpets Fail
Director: John Irvin
Cast: Ron Eldard, Zak Orth

For those of you who enjoy watching war movies, this one is a classic. The story reveals the horrendous brutality and wretchedness, which took place during 1944-1945 on the Western Front during World War II. It is a true story of the Battle of Hurtgen Forest between United States Army and the German Wehrmatcht.

The movie revolves around the reserved and unassuming Private David Manning (Ron Eldard). After learning that his entire unit was killed in the battlefield, Manning's superiors refuse to discharge him even on grounds of mental disability. Instead he is promoted to sergeant and is assigned to lead a new platoon of young trainees.

Manning is portrayed as a selfish man who tries hard to stay out of trouble after experiencing his fill of merry hell from war and its aftermaths. His new unit is an amalgam of replacements, youngsters who are high on fear and lack courage.

The movie then takes us through the journey of the units in the forest, that they traverse repeatedly. These paths are booby-trapped with landmines at every step and constantly shelled too. Manning who wants to be relieved from service agrees to take his unit on this suicide mission, hoping to be granted leave after the mission.

The battle leads to a bloodbath and soon Manning, despite his liking and irresponsibility towards his team, is promoted yet again. Watch the movie as the battle races on in senseless pursuit by soldiers who fight a battle they don't understand.

Manning is one of the million soldiers who are ordinary men pushed to do something extraordinary. The movie shows the flip side of war, where the commanders and sergeants need not always be a hero, but are humans too, who suffer from the same fear as normal people do, feel the misery but still fight, doing their part of the job.

There is an irony that grabs your attention in the climax. It shows how young soldiers turn into veterans and have the gall of commanders when faced with death. This battle saw the death of thousands of soldiers, but is one of the many battles that lie unaccounted, which took place during World War II.u00a0u00a0