It was a really good movie. I just saw it yesterday. Fantastic cinema that told a very narrow story without dealing directly with the big story.
I am a Christian, but I respectfully disagree with the Bishop on this as my take on WWI is different.
WWI is what happens when you have a government of the elites for the elites. Period. When governments are concerned about the health and welfare of their own people they do not go to war other than in the most dire circumstances. When the elites are worried about what is in their own personal interests or they put their pride in front of their people we end up in war. In fact, a Christian worldview and heart would demand that any leader think first of the welfare of those he/she leads.
There are times and reasons to go to war for just causes, but WWI did not come close to meeting that threshold with most involved never really understanding how/why they got there. It was a tragic war and a huge waste of young men.
Beautiful film that told a sober story. I sat there towards the end absorbing the futility of it all thinking of our own political class in DC just shaking my head. I served, but in hindsight I wonder what I served. In my heart it was the nation, my family, my (fellow) soldiers, and my community.
In my mind, I now see that it was Bush Sr., Clinton, and W and their interest were not mine or those of the average Joe/Jane.
Well done, sir.
A side note...I recently read a book that, in part, detailed the build up to WWII. Prior to Pearl Harbor, the vast majority of Americans had no interest in getting involved, in large part due to the propaganda spewed during WW1. Apparently, almost everything the pols and media spoon fed to U.S. people about war atrocities committed by the Triple Alliance were largely exaggerated or totally made up. I was not aware of that. People in the U.S. were adamant about not putting their sons and husbands (and themselves) at risk. If Pearl Harbor (or something like it) had not happened, we may not have become involved until it was too late...if at all.
Well said!