The movie I chose to watch for this blog assignment was Saving Private Ryan. I originally chose it because I thought it would be some sort of a love story because they were saving Private Ryan, and I assumed he was trying to stay alive to make it home safely to his girlfriend, but that was not at all what this movie was about.
In the opening scene, there is a man walking around a cemetary, trying to find a particular grave. When he finds it, he has a flashback to D-Day and the story begins form there. At the beginning of the flashback, there are countless American soldiers on D-Day attacking Omaha Beach. The goriness of this movie was shocking to me as I guess I just wasn't expecting it. There was one particular guy laying on the beach with his stomach and other organs laying beside him, and he was crying out for his mother, begging for the pain to be over. It did a lot for me, in terms of portraying what exactly these soldiers had to go through. I sort of had trouble watching it because I don't like seeing blood and guts and seeing a grown man crying for his mother like that was heart-wrenching.
To begin with, the Germans are dominating Omaha beach and soldiers are going down left and right. I guess I kind of assumed that because we had sent so many men over, the Germans wouldn't have been expecting it and we would just overwhelm them and win quite easily. That was not the case at all. Finally, they cut a hole in the barbed wire fence and fought their way up the mountain and Captain John Miller leads the group to victory as they destroy the German forces. When some of the Germans surrendered, I thought it was awfully cruel for the American soldiers to act like they didn't know what they were saying and shoot them mercilessly, but at the same time I understand why they did.
After that, the movie takes you to army headquarters where they recieve news that 3 of the 4 Ryan sons have been killed in combat. When this happens, they try to find the remaining son so the family atleast has one child to carry on their name. This becomes the assignment for Captain Miller and 7 other Rangers.
The Rangers start out on their journey, grumbling a bit because they don't think they should have to go and risk their own lives looking for one guy. I probably wouldn't have been happy in that situation either, but if I had been Mrs. Ryan and 3 of my 4 sons are dead, there's no way I would be willing to loose the last one.
They begin looking and it doesn't take very long to find a Private James Francis Ryan. They tell him the news and he is absolutely devastated. Private Ryan asks how they died and Captain Miller tells him they died in combat, which Private Ryan is seemingly confused by because his brothers are in grammar school. He is Private Fredrick Ryan, but he is from Minnesota, not Iowa. They apologize for the mix up and continue their search. I would have been probably a little upset, but it was a genuine mistake and they didn't really try to make him upset. I also would have been extremely relieved and if I returned home, I would not have taken having my siblings for granted.
It takes a while, and two of their men are killed, but eventually they find the real Private James Francis Ryan from Iowa. He's sad about the loss of his brothers, but he tells Captain Miller to tell his mother that he wasn't about to leave the only brothers he has left. The Rangers are upset that two men have died for this guy and he doesn't even want to go back, so it seems like it was for nothing. I think the Rangers have every right to be upset, but I think the loyalty of Private Ryan is very honorable.
The troop Private Ryan is with is a little short handed, and the Rangers decide to stay and protect and save Private Ryan so he can return home to his mother. The Germans are obviously going to attack because the place the soldiers are at is a bridge, and having control of bridges was critical in this war. The Rangers helped resourcefully prepare them for the battle to the best of their ability. The battle is hard fought, and in the end the Germans win. Most of the men have died, but they have kept Ryan alive. With his dying words, Captain Miller tells Private Ryan to "Earn this."
The movie ends with them at the grave site of Captain John Miller and Private Ryan asks his wife if he has earned it, and she of course replies that he has. Overall, I thought it was a great movie and I might have to watch it again in the future. (:
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