Santos ou Soldados

This movie is worthy of the 14 "Best Picture" awards it has already won...I hope that it gets a bigger national release.

I live in the San Diego area and I just took my family to see this film tonight, and I have to say that this is one of the most moving films I have seen.

I felt like this was an appropriate movie for my 13 yr old daughter to view (I would not recommend for any younger). The story was told so well that I felt she understood the underlying messages. We were able to have a very long discussion afterward about war and accountability of those who unjustly cause wars. We talked about recognizing the humanity behind the "enemy" soldiers who are, for the most part, just doing their duty to country. These men have wives, children, fathers and mothers who love them just as much as the families of the soldiers on "our" side.

I literally was speechless at the end of the film. The "surprise" ending caught me a little off-guard with its VERY poignant and thought provoking message.

The characters were well developed and I really felt that i could empathize with each man's approach to the situation they were in.

The impact of the movie far exceeded its budget. I was very impressed with the actors (for example, the beautiful French woman...who WAS that?).

I think I was most impressed with the acting of the Medic (The exchange of looks between him and the German prisoner at the end of the movie was classic!).

I read a lot of the reviews prior to watching this film, so I had somewhat of a biased opinion about what I might see. I have to admit, I found myself feeling like the movie exceeded my expectations and was VERY much worth it. I don't buy many movies...this is one I definitely will buy for my private library.

Many films succeed outside the context of Hollywood hype. This one provides several messages competently executed by new talent, and without the special effects so commonly packaged by Tinseltown. Dialog and talent hold one's attention in a real-world interpretation of the Malmedy massacre and it's aftermath in WW2 Belgium. The tagline, 'A Time For Heroes' says much and it's more than appropriate for our time since the definition of 'hero' has been broadened by current events and uncommon courage. Lighting, sound, location, editing, and inventive writing make this a weekend wonder if you're seeking a story of principled men in desperate circumstances. Not unlike John Sturges' films.

Every once in a while a little movie will come along totally unheralded, unexpected, under budget, under promoted, but which really shouldn't be missed.

Saints and Soldiers is such a movie. If you like lots of big budget special effect -loud explosions, -crashing airplanes, -panoramic scenes with thousands of extras slogging through the mud, -if that's what you want in a war movie, skip this one. It doesn't have any of those things.

What it does have, however, is a very effective ensemble cast telling a very compelling story, -a true story, of the Battle of the Bulge. From the utter confusion and tragic consequences of the "Malmedy Masacre", depicted in this movie as more an accident of the fog of war rather than a cold calculated act, to the final climactic battle scenes, this movie shows world war II as it most likely really was. A very personal war for each soldier involved.

My uncle was a soldier who lost a leg in Europe during that time and as he related experiences of battle, he always made it perfectly clear that war was always a very personal thing. You were doing everything to survive. Your enemy was doing the same thing, and somehow battles were eventually won or lost. The average G.I. didn't know, or much care what was going on over the hill, or on a grand scale. He only knew he and a few of his buddies were being shot at by a few of the enemy and they had to shoot back or perish. It's all about living another day.

This movie conveys those sentiments very clearly. It is about daily survival without the grandiose trappings. You really wind up caring about each of these characters. It is well worth seeing. Especially if you were a soldier -or know a soldier, -or just want to know more about being a soldier. In my opinion it will go down in history as one of the more realistic war movies ever made.

This is an example of how bad films can be when the script, acting & direction are not good. I feel sorry for the camera men, sound editing etc whose work is impressive. When compared to 'Band of Brothers' you can then appreciate the quality of the writing

My wife and I go out to see a movie every Friday night. Some nights, I'll tell you, the Picken's Is Slim, as they were when we saw this film about six months ago (if memory serves). I'd never heard of it. She didn't want to see any more war films since that miserable, over-hyped "Pearl Harbor" with the lame love story thrown into the mix. (Cuba Gooding was the only good part in the movie, and, shock! His character's part really happened, too! Hollywood take note!) To tell you the truth, we nearly went to rent something to watch at home, but as we left, we heard a guy in line talking excitedly about how he'd seen it three times, and loved it. What the heck. We got back in line. Their popcorn is better than ours. We went in, not expecting much of anything.

I'll tell you, we were blown away. I came on this site tonight because I've been meaning to write and tell everybody to go see this little film that only ran a week in our local theater. (Buy the DVD!) I have read every comment on this site, and have to LOL at the comments about Mormons. What Mormons? I never even knew it was Mormons until I read it tonight on this site! And so what? It happened to a Mormon guy. It was his story. You expect Catholics to tell it? The other complaints about the story being predictable...what? It sure got us! It was a true story. Don't you get it? If it's true, you can't change what really happened--and what happened was humanity showing it's face. It was right winning out over allegiance.

I'm looking forward to the DVD coming out. I'm getting it and showing it to all my friends. This is film-making the way it should be done. We want to see it more of it.