SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

The film begins with an old man alongwith his family visiting a graveyard. You get 2 know that its a war cemetery with the camera going along the symmetrical array o' crosses (and some Stars of David too, afterall Spielberg is a Jew!) where soldiers souls r supposedly 2 RIP. As he kneels down on one o' the graves and cries, the camera zooms into his bluey eyes, and as in 'Titanic' we know we'll b transported into a flashback.

The flashback begins with soldiers, obviously of the Allied command preparing the landing at Omaha beach, Normandy, France. The liberation o' Europe is abo' 2 begin. What a foolish hapless way 2 go abo'! As the boats near the shoreline, the doors are thrown open and the German bullets rip thru' the helplessly defenceless soldiers.

The camera whirs past frames where men die in every gruesome way you can think of (a man lying with his intestines lying beside him, one's leg gets thrown away shot by a shell, a third gets hit on his helmet with a sniper bullet and while he's still dazed with shock, another bullet hits him right on his forhead throwing his brains out) while machine gun fire provide the background.

There's also a scene where unanaestic surgery is performed with the man crying out aloud first, the crying ebbing out 2 muffles as he goes unconscious due 2 pain. As all this is going on, we somehow find Tom Hanks, the hero of the film, trying 2 commandeer his men 2 get into the German bunkers line. He, alongwith some men get cover fire & get 2 hide. With a gum from one o' his Privates, Hanks sticks a mirror 2 a bayonet and sees the German position. He then sends his sharp shooter 2 clean the man behind the machine gun. Once the gun stops 2 fire, every Allied soldier goes over and shoots whoever German they come across.

There r sentimental scenes too, a soldier collecting the beach sand and putting 'em into a tin marked France, to his collection of such tins marked 'Italy' & 'Austria'.

As the beach comes into the Allied Forces' hands and as the sea turns red with blood & corpses strewn everywhere, the scene shifts 2 a war office in America. An old woman clerk stumbles across some info which she thinks wud b important. The info being, 3 outa 4 brothers belonging 2 the same family r dead. And the fourth, had been parachuted into France, his whereabouts, whether he is dead or alive unknown. The humane Major decides 2 send a rescue mission 2 get back the only guy back so as it wud console the poor parents back home.

Imagine the situation of every American household when they see the black car (which carried the death news of fathers/husbands/brothers/sons killed at some far-off land) rolling 2 their house. Mrs. Ryan seeing the car, just sits down, her old legs giving away.

Now, the job of safely bringing back Pvt. James Ryan (nice 2 c boyish Matt Damon who plays the hero in 'Bourne Identity') back home. Tom Hanks chooses his own men and labours across France to find this young gentleman. After criss-crossing the French countryside, they somehow find Ryan, but not bfo' a faux paus in which another Ryan being mistaken for the man in ?. This part provides a brief humour scene in the otherwise war torn film.

Much to the chagrin of Captn. Miller, (thats Hanks' name in the film, he says he was teaching English Composition back home in one scene) Pvt. Ryan refuses 2 leave his post. So, 2 just make the film along, the whole gang decides 2 stay back alongwith the Allied command 2 complete the operation of carrying out a rout o' an incoming German unit into the French town.

So, all's set and under Hanks, his men wait for the Germans 2 enter the wrecked town. While they wait for the Germans, with an old country song played by a rickety radio, Damon remembers one o' his good ol' memoirs spent along with his family. As he finishes, Hanks' hands begin 2 tremble as he senses the approaching enemy.

The final battle as a long climax begins. Molotov cocktails are thrown into tanks' throats, greased bundles of dynamites stuck to their wheels xplode crippling 'em o' movement. The Allies lose their men too, for instance, the sharp shooter as he keeps shooting the Germans down from a church tower, he finally being shot down by a tank shell. Also, a guy dies in a pool of blood as the German with whom he's fighting drives a knife very very slowly into his heart. Finally the battle and the film ends as Allied Fighter/bomber aircraft fly over and the Germans surrender.
The film is full o' vivid war scenes like showing grenades xploding directly on men as fire envelops 'em, a soldier hit in his gut lying there as blood oozes out, he dying finally with muffled sobs o' 'mummy', 'mummy', a German carefully aiming his scope lens crosswires on the sharp shooter, only 2 find the bullet from the shooter hit him through the scope into his own aiming eye & many such scenes.

(2003)