Saving Private Ryan - Movie Review Example

Saving Private Ryan Question 1 Saving Private Ryan is a film that mostly employs a subjective point of view in its bid to show the heroism and honor achieved by the American soldiers. These are soldiers who lost their lives or survived the war. This is because, in most cases we get to witness the happenings of the narratives through the eyes of the main actor of the film who in this case is Captain Miller, and a few other main characters of the film. In this way, the viewers experience the graphical presentation of the horrors of war as though it was happening right before them. A subjective point of view usually shows the viewer what the main character is experiencing in the story. To create this point of view, Spielberg had to show us shots of Captain Miller looking at something and then shows us how the captain reacts to what the captain witnesses. This subjective point of view, not only appears during the first epic battle scene, but also in other battle scenes throughout the film. There is another remarkable battle scene later in the film where the soldiers encounter German troops in the bombed-out remains of a French town. Spielberg is keen to show the viewer that men who fight in the war put their life on the line for others, not for heroism, but because it is their duty to do so. He clarifies this point by using Captain Miller’s point of view. Miller is a delightful, soft spoken individual that experiences the horrifying violence of the battle scene as he sees other soldiers lose their lives. As the leader of his group, Captain Miller lets us in on the importance of winning the war and at the same time shows the viewer on his determination to complete his mission of saving Ryan’s life so that he can go back home. Question 2 One controlling motif in the film is the use of noise and silence. This motif is clearly brought out especially since Spielberg uses Captain Miller’s point of view. There are moments of blasting noise around the soldiers especially during the battle scenes. In these moments, the soldiers have to carry on regardless of the fact that they cannot even hear themselves or their captain. During the battle, there are also moments when Miller is oblivious to all that is happening around him and even though he can see everything clearly, it seems like everything around him is on mute. This happens during the first battle scene on the beach where a soldier tries to ask him for orders, and he snaps out of the silence back to the noise. The elimination of sound is an effective expression of Captain Miller’s state of mind at that time. It could be logically significant because his hearing could have been damaged by the blasting noise of the battle machines, or a psychological trauma of his emotional pain. This motif helps to enhance the subjectivity of the film as well as theme of courage. In a way, a soldier has to face his opponents and to Miller blocking out all the noise so as to see things clearly helps him to be courageous to face the battle. By alternating between the noise and silence during battle, Spielberg shows his mastery of sound editing while he lets the viewer experience what the soldiers are going through on the battle field. It is doubtless to say the Spielberg expertly uses this motif to enhance the theme of the film as well as carry the viewer through the battle experience. Question 3 Spielberg uses Tom Hanks as Captain Miller and in doing so succeeds in portraying him as a human. He conveys his humanity through his ability to lead his group of men in their quest to save the life of one man. In doing so, they need to stay alive amid exploding bombs and flying bullets. Captain Miller knows that it is necessary to win the war but what drives him is the desire to survive it all and go home to his wife and family. This desire drives him to complete his mission because he knows that family is extremely fundamental aspect of one’s life. Miller understood why Ryan needed to go home to his mother because all his brothers had already died. There is a heartbreaking scene where Miller breaks down and cries. This clearly shows that he is human, and he also feels the painful effects of the war. Question 4 We first meet the young Private Ryan in the film as a paratrooper with the intention of ambushing a German crew. Spielberg chooses to introduce him in this manner so as to show the viewer that he was unaware of what Miller and his group were doing for him. Instead, he was busy carrying out his duty as a soldier during the war. Spielberg chose to introduce Private Ryan the way he did so as to maintain the flow of the story whereby the viewer gets to see that Ryan was not just waiting to be rescued, but he was busy performing his duty as a soldier who went to fight in the war. In this way, the producer shows that Ryan’s life was equally significant as that of other soldiers because he was also putting his life at risk by engaging the German troops. In the end, Ryan manages to stay alive through the ambush while most of the soldiers sent to save him lost their lives. This is ironical in the sense that the men sent to take care of him could not do so up to the end. Ryan was strong enough to survive the war and even encourage others not to give up. Question 5 Jeremy Davies played Upham in the film, a young interpreter who knows fluent German and French languages. From his timid character, he was not ready for the extremities of war but accepted to join Captain Miller’s group to rescue Ryan. In one scene, Upham manages to convince Miller not to let the squad members shoot a surviving German soldier as he pleads for his life. In this case, Upham symbolizes the humanity that still lives in soldiers which allows them to choose the best option which is not just kill the opponent for the sake of it. He reminds the soldiers of their humanity, which they mistake for weakness, whenever they face their opponents; and that doing the right thing in a war does not always involve killing. Spielberg also uses Upham to bring out conflict between a leader and his members. We see that a decision Miller made to let the German go does not go well with some of his squad members who protest against it. Works Cited Saving Private Ryan. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies. DreamWorks, 1998. Film. Read More