Movie Review: The Monuments Men

Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman & Cate Blanchett
Director: George Clooney
In A Few Words: A group of historians and art specialists set about retrieving art and other valuable artifacts stolen by the Nazis during World War Two.
Rating: 7/10

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!!

There have been many great films, and some absolutely superb ones, telling made over the years that tell the various, oft-horrifying stories of the European campaign that, ultimately, led to the fall of Hitler’s Third Reich in 1945, but The Monuments Men is the first movie I can remember that deals less with the military campaigns taking place throughout the final year-and-a-bit of the war in Europe – D-Day, Operation Market-Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and others – and more on another part of what Nazi occupation did to Europe.

As Hitler moves forward with plans for a sprawling museum that will become the alleged centrepiece of his Thousand Year Reich, obviously the Fuhrer – who seems more interested in building this museum and his legacy than more pressing military matters; Germany is being pressured on both sides, by the Russians and the Allied forces – needs artifacts to fill this soon-to-be-built museum.

So, it is that we are told that Hitler’s armies, during their rampant run across Europe during the early years of the war have stolen literally thousands of pieces of precious, famous and irreplaceable artwork and artefacts, particularly from France and Belgium. This despite the best efforts of brave locals, many of whom were shot for their efforts to hide valuable art and artefacts from the Nazis.

Enter, the team known as the Monuments Men. Lieutenant Frank Stokes (Clooney) is in charge of the operation. His vision to slip in behind the Allied armies now driving hard towards Berlin, to secure – and, in some cases, rediscover – the stolen art so that, although millions have died, at least these pieces of great cultural significance will not be lost to the world, is approved by President Roosevelt in the film’s opening scenes.

In a string of scenes reminiscent of a less-criminal The Dirty Dozen, Stokes then sets about recruiting a team of specialists, nicknamed the ‘Monuments Men’, and stacked with all the sorts of men he believes might be necessary given their operation. Significantly amongst these is James Granger (Damon), a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City, who slips into enemy-occupied territory and meets up with a Frenchwoman, Claire Simone (Blanchett) who had been imprisoned, labelled a Nazi collaborator. 

That, in Free France, is about the worst crime there is, but she puts Granger and, by extension, the rest of the team on the right path, and as the Nazis are pushed further and further back towards Berlin, the Monuments Men liberate priceless art, artefacts and, in one funny moment, a giant haul of Nazi gold, hidden in a mine – an event that draws the Supreme Allied Commander to town.

Whilst there are some very funny comedic moments, Clooney has done a wonderful job of injecting some sadness and poignant scenes into the narrative as the hunt to rescue what the Nazis have stolen becomes personal and difficult – and, later, the Russians get involved. This is a war film, after all. Not in the usual vein that we are used to, but one nonetheless. You never lose sight of the fact that, around the work the Monuments Men are doing, there is destructive conflict being waged, with horrific casualties on both sides.

Some of the press I’ve read suggests that The Monuments Men is a bad sign of Clooney’s directing abilities. Whilst I won’t admit to being a pure film critic of expert – I enjoy a film that entertains, it doesn’t have to be a three-time Oscar winner – I didn’t have a problem with the way his latest effort moves along.

The Monuments Men is a great film, a worthy showcase of what these men did in the closing months of the Second World War. Go and watch it. You won’t be disappointed.