This movie actually hearkens back to Director Irving's previous "Hamburger Hill", in that it focuses on the fate of some unimportant small unit fighting in a larger bloodbath battle. The battles involved In both cases, Hamburger Hill and the Hurtgen Forest, were utterly unimportant battles that managed to get a lot of our men killed. Both were US Army assaults on heavily defended prepared defenses performed by largely green troops without proper tactics or gear. The Hurtgen Forest was actually planted and maintained as a defensive position. The irony was, that east of the Hurtgen Forest, the Roer River in Germany was dammed, so the Germans merely opened up the dams and flooded the valley, making logistic and supplies nearly impossible; so the battle had no strategic value. This was a result of Eisenhower's flawed broad front strategy where he wanted his whole front to apply pressure, instead of Montgomery's more sound plan of a strong left hook through the low countries along the coastal plains into NW Germany. Though one might add that a set piece battle commander like Monty probably would have muffed any clever hook advance like that. These battles happen cause war has its own logic and fighting is done for fighting's sake. But since the loss ratios weren't working in our favor, someone should have had the nerve to pull the plug on the whole strategically useless campaign. But Monday morning quarterbacking by me is hardly fair too, you might add.
These battles are called meat grinders, for the pointless waste of life. This movie was released on HBO right after "Saving Private Ryan" so it was submerged behind all that hoopla. "Saving Private Ryan" was a grand big budget salute to all the Greatest Generation vets, with it's Normandy D-Day setting, it's elite paratrooper and ranger troops and their humanitarian mission. Here it is just the opposite, the men are just semi trained green replacements in a standard infantry division, mainly fighting to stay alive. They face murderous German artillery fire and mines, as well as determined defenders. There is no ideological hatred of Germans or Nazis either, they are just the enemy.
The "hero" is a flawed man, Ron Eldard as Pvt. David Manning a survivor of the first failed advance along the Kall Trail. So he is first promoted to sergeant by his desperate Captain, who are all being pushed by their seniors to push through the strong German defenses. His captain made him a devil's bargain, wipe out the German guns and get the advance going and he'll get a Section 8 relief. So he is given a squad of green replacements and warned not to bug out on them or else. He leads them on a behind the line operation with flamethrowers to destroy the German guns covering the river crossing, and kills one of the replacements when he balks at charging with his flamethrower. After that, everyone is cracking up from the flawed battle. Meanwhile, both his captain and his lieutenant are relieved and he is now the platoon lieutenant. Another sergeant, Talbot, is on to him as well as the medic.
So you see it is a complicated plot of many anti or reluctant heroes, mainly trying not to get killed in a war they heard will be over by Christman anyways. In this way, it is more cynical than Hamburger Hill, where a similar squad was trying to stay alive during an assault against a fortified enemy hill. The acting is good, Ron Eldard has presence and that gaunt hunted, loner look. Basically, all the men are being driven by unseen superiors, in some remorseless machine of death. It is in the family of war pics like "Men in War", "Hell is for Heroes", "Platoon" and other flicks that show ordinary soldiers who have to face a near invisible lethal enemy as well as their fellow troops. It was shot in Hungary, Eastern Europe seems to be the ideal location for WW ll flicks; with it's retro look, cheap extras, and tons of surplus military gear. "Bridge at Remagen", the 70's remake of "All's Quiet on the Western Front", "Enemy at the Gates" and "Cross of Iron" all made use of Eastern European settings to their credit.
