Reversal of Fortune

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

The title, Reversal of Fortune (1990), can refer to several aspects of this film, which is based on a true story. It can point to the change from consciousness to a coma that Sunny Von Bulow (Glenn Close) endures. It can also indicate what happens to her husband, Claus Von Bulow (Jeremy Irons, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for this role), who is accused of trying to kill his wife. It may be that Claus literally receives a fortune because if his wife dies, he inherits her extreme wealth. And finally, the word “reversal” could mean reversing a conviction of murder on appeal. The film also presents a situation where what is real can be difficult to determine.

The first shot of the film shows the opulent estates of the rich in Newport, Rhode Island from the air, as if the rich soar above others, and it highlights the reference to “fortune” in the title. But then, shot shifts to a hospital, pointing to that reversal of fortune. Sunny is on life support. The film has Sunny narrating while in her coma, a device that allows Glenn Close to add her voice in addition to the scenes where she is in flashback. The voiceover allows suggestions as to whether her condition was the result of her own actions or due to her husband’s intent. She recovered from an earlier coma which could suggest she is at fault, but there is the possibility that Claus just used her tendencies to cover up his own murderous intent, and his first attempt failed.

The maid, Maria (Uta Hagen) and Sunny’s children from a prior marriage were suspicious after the first coma and the second put Sunny in a persistent vegetative state, from which she did not recover. The police found that Sunny’s insulin level when she entered the hospital was high enough to cause a coma or kill her, most likely due to an injection. They found a needle supposedly encrusted with insulin residue, which pointed to Claus as the perpetrator. Claus could inherit fourteen million dollars, so there is motive. In addition, Claus and Sunny had an arrangement where he could have mistresses. Claus was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to thirty years. These are the general facts of the case.

The real story begins when lawyer Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) becomes involved. He says he takes cases that for him have either a moral or constitutional imperative. The contrast in the fairness of the justice system here occurs because Alan loses a case about two innocent Black youths at the time the wealthy Claus wants to hire him. Alan is skeptical of Claus’s innocence and will charge him a great deal to help him defend the more disadvantaged.

Claus has a snobbish voice, and Irons said it was the hardest part of his performance. He makes a reference to admiring the Jewish people, which, when going out of the way to be stated, sounds prejudicial. At lunch, when Alan wants to talk about the “unpleasantness,” Claus thinks he means the lawyer’s fee, not the health of his wife. It highlights Claus’s lack of empathy. Alan says that one thing in Claus’s favor is that everybody hates him, which means one can show that Claus can be a victim. Of course, it’s a left-handed comment.

Maria the maid testified that she found a vial of insulin and a hypodermic needle, yet Sunny was not diabetic. Alan at the beginning feels that he would have voted to convict Claus if on the jury. He says if Hitler had asked him to defend him, his choice would have been to defend him or kill him. He admits that he would take the case and then kill Hitler. That shows both sides of Alan, a person who wants to follow the law, but also thinks outside it when it comes to morality. (Alan was part of the defense teams for O. J. Simpson and Jeffrey Epstein trials, and defended President Donald Trump in the impeachment trials. It’s up to you to judge his legal and moral codes).

Alan gathers a team around him to question him, to keep him thinking objectively and considering different strategies. It shows how Alan is willing to let his ego come under scrutiny. In contrast, you have Claus, who says, “Let the chips fall where they may,” to which Alan says that is what an innocent person would say. Claus’s response with a sly smile is, “I know.” The scene reveals that Claus is a schemer who is centered on his own self-interest.

Claus adds context to the basic charges by saying Sunny detested doctors and that is why he didn’t call one immediately. He knew there were hypodermic needles because they injected themselves with vitamin B12 shots at one time. He also says that Sunny took some of his prescriptions.

One of Alan’s team members is Minnie (Felicity Huffman) who argues that Claus, a privileged aristocrat, is despicable and that by trying to get him off, they are culpable as “accessories after the fact” in allowing a heinous man to go free. Generally, Alan gives the usual argument that everyone must have a fair trial to ensure that the innocent ones “falsely accused” have the same rights to even the playing field. In Claus’s case he says he is “pissed off,” because the children hired their own investigator to search for evidence. If rich people can decide what the evidence is in a case, then that precedent will make it difficult for poor people to be investigated in the same way the privileged are.

The investigation reveals how unsavory characters get involved, trying to cash in on a high-profile case, or hiding mistakes, which shows the road to justice can be a deceptive one. For instance, there is the slimy David Marriott (Fisher Stevens) who says he helped deliver drugs to Sunny. He later edits a tape to make it look like Alan was paying him to falsify evidence. We don’t learn why he did that (an example of how truth can be twisted). The lawyer in the earlier trial has notes that he is unwilling to share, but which eventually become known. Alan feels that there was no finding of insulin until after the fact. Alan suggests there may have been a frame-up of Claus by Sunny’s children, the next in line in inheritance. But as one student later says, the children could have framed “a guilty man.” There is a news article which has author Truman Capote revealing that Sunny showed him how to inject drugs. So, there are several layers muddling the attempt to get at what really happened.

Claus has a very dark sense of humor, which alienates him from others. When he meets Alan’s defense team, he says, “What do you give a wife who has everything? …An injection of insulin.” And, “How do you define a fear of insulin? … Claus-traphobia.” In another conversation with Allan, who says that a priest is an ideal witness, because “it’s like getting the word of God,” Claus says, “I checked. God is unavailable.” The last lines of the film have Claus getting cigarettes at a pharmacy. After the clerk recognizes him, he says he also wants, “a vial of insulin…just kidding.”

At one interview, Alan, trying to decipher Claus’s psyche, asks why he stayed in the flat where his mother died for five days until reporting the death. Claus is not forthcoming, saying, “My mother is my own business.” Who is this guy? Is he innocent or a killer? That is what Alan is trying to figure out. Especially when we have the narration of the comatose Sunny saying that she took huge amounts of laxatives and aspirin, used an assortment of sedatives, smoked a great deal, and drank to excess on certain occasions. We have a situation where it is difficult to determine what is true and what is false about the circumstances surrounding her vegetative state. Given her self-destructive actions, there is the possibility of her being suicidal.

Claus does not demonize Sunny. Quite the opposite. He says that she was “lovely,” and loved Christmas because more than anything else, she enjoyed giving gifts to others. The couple weren’t intimate for quite a while, but even though she allowed Claus his brief infidelities with call girls, she was hurt when Claus became attached to Alexandra Ises (Julia Hagerty) who sent his love letters to her to spite Sunny. According to Claus, they did discuss divorce, but he wanted to stay with Sunny. However, he wanted to work to have a sense of value, but Sunny wanted him to herself. As Claus tells Allan’s team, she thought her husband was confusing since he married her for her money but still wanted to have a job. Claus tells the team that the second coma was “much more theatrical.” An outraged Alan asks if Claus even cares about his wife’s horrible predicament. He claims he does, but he says. “I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve.” The audience can never get a true fix on what makes Claus and Sunny tick.

Comatose Sunny rightfully says, “it’s easy to forget this is all about me.” The whole story focuses on Claus, but she is the one who is hopelessly confined to a bed, needing others to maintain her existence. That may say something about the rest of us who would rather center on a scandal than on someone’s suffering, or her prior life full of passion and tenderness with Claus, and love for her children. There is a scene where she and Claus meet early on at an outdoor party where a pet tiger approaches her and she is bold about giving the creature a snack. Claus is excited by this act and joins Sunny near the animal. Sunny says, “I never liked people much, not as a rule.” She says that Claus was “different. Not a normal person I guess.” Here we have a sense of how out of the mainstream they were, more comfortable with a wild beast than other humans. Sunny’s voiceover states that things later became “brutish” and “cold,” and she wonders, “is he the Devil? If so, can the Devil get justice?” She wonders if all the legal activity is “in Satan’s service.” That sounds like what Alan talked about earlier concerning how even the guilty must have a fair trial.

Alan’s personality is not free of guilt, also. He sacrifices his personal relationships for his work, which he concedes is “all that I care about.” His own son interrupts him and sarcastically introduces his daughter to Alan, as if he hasn’t had time for her. His ex-girlfriend, Sarah (Annabella Sciorra), who is helping him with the case, says he doesn’t pay attention to those he cares about. He may have invited her to the team so he can be close to her, without being emotionally available.

After describing what happened the night of the second coma, Claus says he discovered Sunny passed out in her bathroom, her “sanctuary,” an almost religious word ironically attributed to a very non-spiritual place, He tells a doubting Alan, “I don’t know the whole truth.” That goes for the audience as well. As Alan says it’s very difficult to trust a man one doesn’t understand. Alan says to Claus, “You’re a very strange man.” To which, Claus responds, “You have no idea.” He admits not only to his “strangeness,” which is off-putting, but that Alan can’t fathom him, and neither can we.

The team eventually gets tests that show that the prosecution’s evidence of residual insulin on a hypodermic needle was inconclusive. Sunny was hypoglycemic, and then would overdose on sweets, which could lead to overcompensation by the body to produce insulin. Alan is able to introduce the new evidence despite the fact the case is on appeal by citing a Rhode Island Supreme Court justice’s prior ruling. They are able to reverse the convictions.

But Alan and Sarah tell Alan’s son two differing versions of what could have happened. Sunny was suicidal, could have taken too many medications, wanted the windows opened, and passed out in her bathroom while Claus was walking the dogs, exercising, and showering. She was ready to pee, and that’s how her nightgown was hiked up. Or, Claus opened the windows and dragged her into the bathroom, which hiked up the sleep clothes, and his actions helped the barbiturates on the way to her destruction, So, we are still in the dark.

Sunny’s last words are that we will only know the truth “When you get where I am,” which means not in this life. After Alan tells Claus about the good news, Alan, again showing the division on how he lives his life, says to him, “Legally, this was an important victory. Morally, you’re on your own.”

As are we.

Paths of Glory

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Director Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 film that is set during WWI is his first great work, and points to the techniques and themes he would later use in satiric masterpieces on men and war.

The film is shot in black and white which helps to stress the grim state of warfare and the fate of the soldiers made to fight for the questionable honor of their countries. The opening of the movie has the French national anthem playing in the background, but the drum pounding sounds are loud, almost brash, which suggests a patriotism that has been distorted. There is a voice-over narration which sets the scene. The action takes place in France in 1916, which is two years after the start of hostilities between France and Germany. The “battered” French pushed the Germans back from the Marne River after their quick advancement against the French Army. The front was stabilized and turned into trench warfare for “two grisly years,” with little change in the positions of the two military forces. The narrator says, “Successful attacks were measured in hundreds of yards, and paid for in lives, by hundreds of thousands.” From this statement, we see the futility and lethal nature of warfare, as large numbers of soldiers are sacrificed to gain small patches of land for their countries.

General George Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) arrives to meet with the local commander, General Paul Mireau (George Macready), who set up his headquarters in a sumptuous French chateau. Broulard comments on the lovely accommodations and Mireau says he tries to create a pleasant atmosphere in which to work. An ironic statement, considering his “work” involves sacrificing his men to kill others. Broulard’s statement about how he wishes he had Mireau’s taste in carpets adds to this feeling of a disconnect between the military brass and the men fighting the battles. Broulard says they want to break through the German lines by capturing “the Anthill,” a German stronghold, which is key to the German defenses in the area. The insect name of the hill implies that it is something insignificant when measured against the loss of human life to capture it. Mireau says it’s out of the question and thinks trying to do it in a couple of days is absurd. He says that his division is in pieces now. Broulard tempts him by saying he would get another star and a promotion to a better assignment. Mireau says his reputation and commitment to his men are more important than his ambition. But this is all surface nobility, what he’s supposed to say as a father figure to his men. Once Broulard says maybe Mireau’s men aren’t capable of accomplishing the objective, it seems like a challenge and a questioning of Mireau’s leadership abilities. Mireau changes his stance that the mission is impossible and now says, “We just might do it.” As they speak, they walk around the large room, which emphasizes its majesty, but also shows how small these men are that have somehow gained the power to send hundreds of thousands to their deaths. The institution of the military, and later religion, seem to take on a life of their own and everyone is manipulated by the organizations' stagnant procedures.

We then get a shot through an opening in the earthen trenches, a far cry from the luxury of the chateau. Mireau walks among the men and his phony patriotic words about being “ready to kill more Germans,” and saying to a soldier that his mother must be “proud” of him, give little comfort to the serviceman whose face and voice appear and sound defeated from enduring the carnage. Mireau repeats the same lines as shells explode close by, the sounds of the death-dealing weapons deflating his presenting war as glorious and heroic. (IMDb points out that the title of the film comes from the line, “The paths of glory lead but to the grave,” from Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.”). Mireau then comes to a soldier who doesn’t respond right away and seems confused about whether he has a wife. He then breaks down and says he won’t see his wife because he is going to get killed. Another soldier says he suffers from shell shock. Mireau, who has a scar on his face and at least once was in battle, shows how he has forgotten what war does to a man as he rose through the ranks when he says there’s “no such thing.” Mireau slaps the soldier and says the man is acting like a coward. He wants the man transferred out before he “infects” the others, characterizing the man’s suffering as a type of communicable disease that must be stopped, instead of understanding the nature of his condition. (This episode is echoed later in a similar scene in Patton). From a stylistic perspective, Kubrick uses the first of several narrow tracking shots as Mireau moves through the trench. If the men are going to take the Anthill, then they are used as warrior insects and the trenches are their trails. The effect is claustrophobic, compared to the large, airy chateau room. Kubrick’s style here seems fresh, new, pointing to the future of experimentation in filmmaking.

Mireau visits Col. Dax (Kirk Douglas). The general acts like he doesn’t want to sit, saying he’s not comfortable behind a desk. He’s trying to come off as if he’s not a bureaucrat, but is still an active fighting man, which is just posing. Mireau says a soldier behind a desk is only worried about small things, like a mouse running up a soldier’s leg. Dax, preferring the mundane over the self-destructive nature of men who thirst for the deluded glory of war, and showing he is capable of wordplay, says, “If I had the choice between mice and Mausers, I think I’d take the mice every time.” They look through a scope to see the Anthill, and Mireau says he has encountered more formidable objectives. His downplaying is invalidated by more shells exploding right next to them. He calls the objective “pregnable.” Mireau makes it sound as if a battle to take over a spot of land is similar to having a romantic conquest. Dax says Mireau’s speech is like saying something about “giving birth,” which is usually about producing life, but here war is the midwife delivering death. (Kubrick will brilliantly draw connections between the sexual urges of men and their desire to wage war in Dr. Strangelove). Mireau says Dax is clever, and we learn that Dax was a respected lawyer before entering the military, and this bit of information sets the stage for the trial to come later.

Dax had several casualties in a previous battle, but Mireau’s executive officer, Major Saint-Auban (Richard Anderson), says, with a condescending tone, their defeat was “a kind of animal thing,” because they acted like less evolved animals, subject to the herd instinct, bunching together, and making themselves vulnerable. Dax, understanding what a soldier experiences, counters by saying it was “kind of a human sort of thing,” to do so, as their lives were threatened, and they sought protection. As characters speak, there is machine-gun fire in the background constantly, implying that there is no escape from danger here. Mireau, despite the extreme probability of defeat, says that Dax’s men will storm the Anthill the next day. The general coolly provides the percentages of men who will get killed by friendly fire, going through “No-Man’s-Land,” (the area between the two military forces), and as they approach the barbed wire defense lines. He acts like it’s their job to “absorb” shrapnel and gunfire so others can get to the goal. He sounds like an accountant spouting statistics involving numbers, not people. Dax says that half of his men will die. Mireau, not showing any empathy, says the losses are “regrettable,” but they will have obtained their objective, which is their duty. Dax quietly objects to not needing to have the French flag waved in front of him to make him charge into battle like a patriotic bull. Dax says that Samuel Johnson had a different view of patriotism, calling it, “the last refuge of a scoundrel,” emphasizing how some put on a disguise and drape themselves in patriotic fervor to get what they want. Mireau threatens Dax, saying he needs his enthusiastic support, or else he must relieve him of his command. Dax, not wanting to abandon his men in the inevitable battle to come, says his soldiers can take the Anthill.

Three men are assigned to do reconnaissance in preparation for the assault. The men are weary and the leader, Lt. Roget (Wayne Morris) has drunk too much to adequately deal with the mission. He and the other men, Cpl. Phillipe Paris (Ralph Meeker) and Pvt. Lejeune (Kem Dibbs) look like ants, insects ruled by the hive, as they crawl toward the appropriately named Anthill. Drums in the background again reinforce the rhythm of troops marching into war. Dead bodies litter the battlefield, which looks like an open grave cemetery. Roget is a coward, and incompetent. He breaks up the night patrol, which is not a good strategic idea, since it’s difficult to see comrades at night. Roget gets scared and runs off. Paris discovers Lejeune’s body which has steaming smoke emanating from it like he was burned in hellfire, which backs up the saying that “war is hell.” Back at the camp, Paris accuses Roget of cowardice which resulted in Lejeune’s death. Roget, only thinking of saving his own skin, threatens Paris with charges of insubordination and threatening a superior officer. Col. Dax shows up and Roget lies, saying that Lejeune started coughing, thus drawing the attention of the enemy and almost getting the other two killed.

Dax tells his men about the assault on the Anthill the next day. The fact that the weather prediction is for sun all day, making it easier to be seen by the enemy, shows how even the weather adds to the odds of success being against them. We never see any enemy soldiers, which implies that the French soldiers don’t really know who the enemy is, only that they are told by their superiors that they must kill these “others.” After we see how their own commanders treat the men, the audience may well question if leaders such as Mireau and Broulard are just as lethal to soldiers as those shooting at them from the other side. Dax informs his men that they won’t receive backup until the end of the day, which demonstrates how the military is not concerned about its infantrymen and will not waste its artillery shells until after the task is accomplished to capture the Anthill. The men begin to accept that they will die in the battle and what’s left to talk about is whether it’s better to be killed by a bayonet or a machine gun, the latter being quicker. One soldier argues that everyone is mortal, so people are more afraid of getting hurt and suffering rather than dying; it’s the manner of demise that we are afraid of. The other soldier says it doesn’t matter how one dies, everyone is afraid of dying. In the face of such a dire situation, all hope is lost, and morbid conversations are all that remain.

On the morning of the battle, the commanders drink cognac, toasting themselves as they hope for victory, but their lives are not at risk. The cut to the trenches shows a different atmosphere, one of dread, as explosions bombard the ears of the soldiers. They huddle against the sides of the trenches as Dax grimly walks among them. The wide-angle tracking shots suggest being caught in a hellish, inescapable maze. The infernal vision of the trenches contrasts with the opulence of the general’s chateau. There is a countdown as to when they will charge, like a countdown to death. Dax leads the assault. As he moves forward with his rallying whistle, men die all around him. Back at command headquarters, Mireau yells that the men are not advancing, and that they are cowards. He orders artillery fire on his own positions to spur his men forward, but which makes him the real enemy, a traitor to his own soldiers.  The Battery Commander, Capt. Rousseau (John Stein), says he can’t carry out such a command unless the general takes official responsibility by writing and signing the order. Mireau relieves Rousseau of his command. Dax tries to get his men who sought refuge in the trenches to try again, but a dead body falls on him as he tries to climb out. It becomes clear to him that any further attempt is futile. Mireau rants and wants the soldiers to receive the death penalty for falling back into their own trenches. He says if the men “won’t face German bullets, they’ll face French ones.” So, the soldiers are in a deadly no-win situation, as they are just as threatened by their own side as they are by that of the enemy.

Back at the chateau, Mireau tells Broulard that he will have ten men from each company in his regiment tried for cowardice and they will receive the death penalty. Dax argues that the men were pinned down, and it wasn’t that they were refusing orders. Mireau says they have “skimmed milk” in their veins, not blood. Dax counters with, “it’s the reddest milk I’ve ever seen. My trenches are soaked with that red skimmed milk.” Dax is angry and says he’s not going to mince words. The outraged Mireau says he’ll place him under arrest. Broulard, who sounds reasonable and calm on the surface, but underneath is just as cruel as Mireau, tries to avoid giving Dax the opportunity to present a negative case against command orders. He says if brought to trial, Dax would be granted all sorts of latitude in presenting his case. Dax does say he didn’t mean to be insubordinate. However, he presses his argument that the men didn’t advance because they couldn’t. The verbally combative Mireau (it’s the only way he allows himself to fight) says that all of Dax’s men are “scum,” and the only way that it could be proven that they couldn’t advance would be if they were killed in the assault. That is quite a lethal argument, not allowing for any survivors. Mireau’s argument is one that most military backers make which is that individual soldiers can’t make any decisions, but must only follow orders, no matter how absurd those orders may be, to avoid chaos in the ranks.

At first Mireau wants a hundred soldiers tried. Dax says why not execute all of them, if they are all to blame. Broulard, always looking to avoid any bad publicity, rejects that idea as extreme. So, Dax is willing to sacrifice himself for his men, and says place the blame with the officer in charge, him. But Broulard doesn’t want to put any blame on officers, he being one in the command hierarchy, and says that would exacerbate the problem. He offers that twelve soldiers can be the scapegoats to take the symbolic blame for the failure to take the Anthill, making sure the General Staff is free from responsibility. When Mireau quibbles, Broulard says they shouldn’t haggle, which is exactly what they are doing, only it isn’t over the price of fruit, but men’s lives. Mireau dwindles the number to three soldiers, who will be picked by the troops. He sheds the blame for singling out specific men by forcing the soldiers to betray their own comrades. The soldiers are made into killers of their own colleagues. In essence they are doing the job of the enemy for them. Of course, it is ridiculous given how many retreated to zero in on only three, but for Dax that’s better than condemning many others. Dax requests that he be able to defend the men, which Broulard accepts, despite Mireau’s disappointment.

Mireau, while with Broulard, runs into Battery Commander Rousseau, and now tries to cover up his order to shell his own men. He says that Rousseau’s shells fell short in the fight, and instead of charging him with disobeying an order, Mireau says Rousseau should report back to his post for further orders. Broulard says the man should be disciplined for his miscalculations, but Mireau doesn’t want an inquiry that might reveal his twisted order, so he tells Broulard that he’ll just reassign the man. Afterwards, in private, behind Broulard’s back, Mireau says he’ll break Dax if he doesn’t drop his defense of the accused three men.

Dax tells three officers to pick one man each for trial. Dax meets with the men chosen. One, Pvt. Pierre Arnaud (Joe Turkel), was picked by a lottery, so arbitrary is the way of determining who might be executed. Paris was chosen by Roget because he confronted the lieutenant about his cowardice and getting Lejeune killed. So, the real coward is not put on trial. Another, Pvt. Ferol (Timothy Carey) who says he was marked as “socially undesirable,” so he was picked simply because others did not find him likable. Dax tells Paris that accusing Roget, an officer, of retribution will only get him in more hot water, and that despite the reasons for how they became defendants, they must deal with the accusations against them. Dax is a bit naive to believe he has a case as he advises the defendants to give simple statements, stick to the facts involving the battle, don’t argue or complain, and look the judges in the eyes.

The trial takes place in the chateau, a civilized, grand place, which is far removed from the cruel reality of the war, and which makes the soldiers who were caught up in the battle seem out of place in comparison. Dax complains that the full charges were not read, but the judges dismiss his complaint, saying they are simply accused of cowardly action. Already, it seems that the proper rules of a fair proceeding are dispensed with. The prosecutor, Saint-Auban, asks Ferol what he did, and will not hear his description of the situation, what he saw, or anything about the bullets zinging around him, thus not allowing for any true picture of the circumstances. Ferol said he advanced to “No-Man’s-Land,” and then retreated. The court isn’t even ready to give Dax a chance to question Ferol, and he must ask for permission. Dax says Ferol was with another private, so why did they not try to capture the Anthill. Ferol says he must be kidding, which is the point that Dax is making, that it was absurd for them to continue to attack. The chief magistrate (Peter Capell),  however, doesn’t see the point, because he believes a soldier follows orders, no matter the circumstances.

Arnaud is next and testifies that he advanced until ordered to stop. He made it only to his own wire defenses. The prosecution gets him to say that he did not advance “many” meters before stopping. He is also asked if he urged others to move forward, to which Arnaud says everyone around him was either dead or wounded. Yet, the prosecutor again asks the absurd question in order to get his negative answer. Dax asks if his action was any different than the others, and Arnaud says no. Dax is trying to show how the choosing of these men to stand trial is unfair, saying that Arnaud was singled out based on a lottery, not because he was a coward. The judge says Arnaud had as much chance as any other to not be accused, which dispenses with the questionable point of having the lottery to start with, and zeroes in only on the fairness of the steps following the acceptance of the method of choosing who was tried. Dax wants to read into the record how Arnaud has no record of cowardice in his past, and in fact that he distinguished himself in battle. The judge says it’s irrelevant, that only his current behavior is on trial, which dispenses with the question as to whether it is valid to accuse this one man of cowardice out of all the others who retreated without considering what may distinguish him from the others not accused. It would be as if five men allegedly robbed a bank, and the prosecutor picked only one name out of a hat to determine who should stand trial, and then the judge threw out all the evidence that could show him as less guilty than the others.

When questioned, Paris says he never left the trenches. Dax asks him why he didn’t leave, and he says a man who was shot dead fell on him and knocked Paris out during the attack. The judge, presuming the man is guilty instead of innocent, takes over the prosecutor’s job, showing the court’s prejudice, by saying Paris has no witnesses to back him up, and the large scar on his forehead could have been self-inflicted afterwards, and not incurred from the falling man.

In his summation, the prosecutor says the attack on the Anthill was a “stain” on the nation’s honor, and there must be atonement by executing the guilty. Dax does not hold back, saying, “There are times that I’m ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion.” He says he protests the authenticity of the court by not allowing him to present witnesses to support his arguments, and yet the prosecution offered no hard evidence or witnesses to support its case. He also complains that there were no written charges, and there was no recording of the proceedings. Dax reverses the prosecutor’s charge as to where dishonor really exists, and says not the battle, but the trial is a “stain” on the nation’s honor.

We don’t even hear a verdict. It is a foregone conclusion. Instead, we have a scene where the soldier in charge of the execution squad tells the men that they must carry out their orders, or they will be held responsible. Basically, there is the threat of putting guns to the heads of the men in the firing squad if they don’t shoot their weapons. Thus, there is no room for free choice in the military. The story presents the different reactions of the sentenced men in order to be realistic in depicting how soldiers might truly respond to such a situation. The condemned are given a last meal (like one really has an appetite before one’s own execution), but Ferol, after first taking some bites of roast duck, spits out the food, thinking they are being drugged into being docile for the firing squad. He still says Dax will think of something to get them freed. He is still in denial. Arnaud is angry and desperate. Paris wants to escape, but eventually realizes it’s hopeless.

The chaplain, Father Dupree (Emile Myer) comes to the cell and says that Dax sent him. The priest says that Dax found no men in charge wanted to be involved in the case, washing their hands, like Pontius Pilate, trying to absolve themselves of responsibility. Ferol, the reality crashing in on him, cries. Paris asks that the priest send his letter to his spouse, in which he says he tried to tell what happened, but concedes that there is no way to really explain the absurdity of what has occurred. Even though not religious, the priest gets Paris to make his confession. However, Arnaud says the priest’s line about how “Death comes to us all,” is a sanctimonious cliché. Arnuad says his religion is the wine he drinks, and mocks confession as he prays to the bottle. For him right now, religion is equated with the numbing effects of alcohol, both providing an escape from reality. The priest says God has the power to save, but Arnaud says there is no saving here. He hits the priest, and is ready to attack Paris, who hits him hard, causing a skull fracture. He is unconscious, and the priest says they wouldn’t execute him in this state. But, the doctor (Halder Hanson), who says the man might not last the night, and is supposed to care about the well-being of patients, says the execution will occur, so they should make sure that Arnaud is vertical for the firing squad. He adds that the general will want Arnaud conscious, so he can experience his execution. In other words, God forbid he should die before the military gets its scapegoat blood spilled, or that the commanders don’t get a chance to see the man face the horror of his own death.

The coward, Roget, is with Dax, saying how unfortunate the executions will be, and how no one is happy about them. Dax repeats his words, mocking Roget’s watered-down sense of being upset. Dax asks why he picked Paris? Roget responds with the explanation that somebody had to be picked. Dax knows that Roget did it to get rid of Paris and his accusations against Roget. As retribution, Dax says he needs to pick someone to head up the firing squad, so it will be Roget. He tells him that he has to tie the men to the posts, offer blindfolds, give the order to shoot the men, and then use his revolver to put a bullet in each man’s brain to ensure the execution. He wants the weak-willed Roget to feel the weight of his guilt for sending innocent men accused of being cowards to their deaths, when it was Roget who was the one who was truly guilty of the charge. Rousseau enters saying he has information that bears on the trial. We know he is going to tell Dax about Mireau’s order to fire on his own troops, which shows that there are still honorable men in the military.

The next scene has a tracking shot, though in contrast to the horrific one in the trench, showing dancers at a military ball amid elegant surroundings and music as those present enjoy themselves while others suffer their fates at the hands of the privileged men in attendance. Broulard’s dance is interrupted because Dax wants to speak with him. The general admits that the number of casualties shows that Dax’s men may have made a good attempt to take the Anthill. Dax says if so, how can the execution of the men take place. Broulard admits that the General Staff may have known how the attack had a zero chance of success, but the commanders are subject to criticism from the press and elsewhere, and they have to put up a show of strength in the waging of the war. So, he says, “why should we have to bear any more criticism for failure than we have to.” Instead those in charge delegate the blame for being unsuccessful onto the almost anonymous innocent soldiers who have no power to fight the injustice they must endure. Broulard goes on to say that the executions boost morale because seeing someone else die is “fundamentally encouraging and stimulating,” even motivational. He uses “morale” in a strange way here, because it is supposed to be a positive stimulant, not the negative reaction to fear of punishment invoked by lethal means. Broulard condescendingly says that the troops are “like children.” They crave discipline like from a father. Kubrick’s satiric voice is now heard, one to be sounded loudly in Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket, when Broulard says “one way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then,” hardly the equivalent of a parent’s grounding a child or issuing a stern reprimand. Not being able to believe his own ears, Dax asks, “Do you sincerely believe all the things you’ve just said?” Broulard looks at Dax askance, as if to say this is no time to be honest, because he must maintain this front to justify the despicable actions of turning the pursuit of victory into a public relations show. Dax then drops the bomb about Mireau ordering the firing on his own men. Dax gives him sworn statements attesting to Mireau’s orders. Dax says it will be a publicity nightmare (using Broulard’s language). He argues that if the three soldiers are not executed, then it will show that the General Staff was acting justly in blaming Mireau for his failure to take the Anthill and recklessly endangering his own men as he desperately tried to deal with his failure. He then tried to shift his blame onto innocent soldiers by putting them on trial. Broulard excuses himself, making no promises.

The next day, the detail of men to carry out the execution show up where the prisoners are confined, so we know Broulard is not stopping the executions. Paris engages ironically in small talk with the sergeant in charge, but then breaks down, and says that he doesn’t want to die. The sergeant tells him to act like a man in his moment of death since he is not alone as many of them will, sadly, be joining him soon. The ceremony of execution is formal and staged in front of the large chateau. They carry Arnaud in a stretcher, making the scene even more pathetic. Ferol walks with the priest, but cries, saying he fought on the battlefield with the others, so why is he being singled out? He is scared, and the film tries to show how men might really feel and act at this moment, not in the John Wayne stoicism that men are told to exhibit, which is not authentic and allows them not to be genuine about their feelings. The priest tells Ferol he can’t question the ways of God, but it is like admitting to the man there is no reasonable explanation to resolve what is happening to Ferol and the other two. The sergeant pinches the cheek of Arnaud so he can be alert to be killed, conjuring up the phrase “cruel and unusual punishment.” Roget is there offering blindfolds, and apologizing to Paris, which is too little, too late. This scene somewhat resembles Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, since Jesus, like these soldiers, made a sacrifice so others would be spared condemnation. The drums sound like exaggerated heartbeats, that then cease as the weapons are fired.

The next scene ironically offsets the horror of the previous scene, as Broulard and Mireau eat in the chateau, with Mireau thanking Broulard for being there at the execution, supposedly to lend him support at such a grim scene. Mireau says, however, there was “splendor” in the scene, and Broulard says he had never seen this type of “affair” (a euphemism, like it was an entertainment event) handled better. Mireau says one worries that the condemned might spoil it with an unsightly display, again showing how appearances are more important than the awful truth of what is happening. Today we call it “optics.” Broulard had summoned Dax. Mireau tells Dax his men “died very well,” as he stuffs his mouth, still able to enjoy the pleasures of being a living general, who can easily dispense with those down the chain of command. Then Broulard casually brings up the order to attack Mireau’s own troops. Of course, Mireau denies it despite the evidence. Broulard says then he will be able to clear his name in an inquiry, since he doesn’t want this to become a public smear. Broulard did not stop the executions, not wanting Dax to think he could control him. But, he doesn’t want a scandal, so he makes Mireau a scapegoat, ironically just as Mireau made his men play the same part. Mireau tells Broulard that he was the only “innocent” man being harmed here, which is the opposite of what happened, the true innocent men having been put to death. Mireau is a murderer, (but so is his accomplice, Broulard), but he gets away without being executed. Mireau says that Broulard’s treachery was inflicted on “a soldier,” which is what he calls himself, but Mireau himself brought harm to the real soldiers in his command. After Mireau leaves, Broulard says to Dax it had to be done, because they can’t have fools running the show. What he’s really saying is Mirerau wasn’t smart in playing his role in the planned massacre. Broulard then offers Dax Mireau’s job. Dax bluntly asks if he wants him to tell Broulard where to shove the promotion. Broulard angrily says he better apologize. Dax, really apologizing to himself, says he apologizes for not “being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir (a sarcastic use of the title), for not telling you sooner that you’re a degenerate, sadistic old man, and you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again.” Broulard smiles and says Dax is a disappointment. He thought he was like himself, just angling for himself to get Mireau’s command. Broulard now realizes that Dax is an idealist, and was sincere in his defense of the men, and was not after personal ambition. He sees Dax as naive as “the village idiot.” He tells him he “spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality.” Broulard says they have to win a war, and the men were shot because they didn’t fight to reach that objective. He insisted that Mireau be made to answer for the charges against him, and then asks where has he done anything wrong? Dax says if he doesn’t know the answer, then he pities him, for Broulard has no empathy or compassion for others.

The story ends with a scene at a tavern, where the host brings out a German woman. The French soldiers at first boo, then jeer, and objectify her sexually. But then she sings a melancholy song, as tears appear on her face. The soldiers listen, and then the men sing along, some joining her with their own tears. The German woman, supposedly representing the enemy, becomes a maternal symbol, singing to them a lullaby, as if trying to soothe the frightened children inside these men. They join in the desire for release from the anger and hatred that rips people apart. Outside, away from the womb-like comfort of the tavern, Dax is told that that they have been ordered back to the front. He says the men should be given a few more minutes of escape from the realities of war.

The next film is The Shape of Water.