This is a very entertaining, and affecting, movie that takes the points of view of ground troops on three sides of World War II (American, German, and Italian) -- each coming into contact with the others -- but the movie focuses on their own personal lives which, when compared one to the other are surprisingly similar. The director, Ari Taub, tells this story with a humorous and quirky touch, showing us the human qualities of our enemies and suggesting that if we ever did humanize our enemies wars would be a lot harder to fight.
There are several story lines to follow here, and the film weaves in and out of each effortlessly -- no small feat. With a cast of -- I'm guessing here -- 50 or so speaking roles (each very well played), I was impressed at the skill of storytelling and the scope attempted on a minimal, truly independent, film budget. There is a "light touch" to the comedy in this movie, and while you might find yourself caught up in the exploits and quirky adventures of the different sets of "heroes", there is more at work here than that: without being preachy, Taub is showing us the futility, the madness, and the human comedy that is war.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, and it's worth checking out if it lands at a film festival or video store near you.
