The Monuments Men
Directed by George Clooney
Distributed by Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox
George Clooney hits this history lesson out of the park with this hilarious and dramatic film involving the most important historical treasure hunt our world has ever seen.
The Monuments Men focuses on the heroic true story of a platoon of World War II soldiers putting themselves in the line of fire while trying to reclaim some of history’s greatest masterpieces before they fall into the hands of Hitler’s Nazis.
This movie will make all of those history lectures worth your while—Clooney takes this treasure hunt and creates his own masterpiece that will take you back to 1944 and make you really appreciate your next visit to a museum.
If it isn’t enough for movie fans that Clooney both stars in and directs this film, wait until you see his line-up of A-list co-stars.
Frank Stokes (Clooney) recruits art scholars and curators like James Granger (Matt Damon), Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), and Walter Garfield (John Goodman) to help him save over a thousand stolen pieces of German, French, Italian, and Spanish art. Damon also has a Parisian stroll with Cate Blanchett, who makes a small but memorable appearance.
Calling themselves “the Monuments Men,” the team soon sees they’ve bit off more than they can chew as they slowly realize winning the war isn’t enough. As Hitler moves through Europe, the Monuments Men realize that as important as it is to save their own lives, it’s just as vital to save their humanity.
Being a history major, I never realized how vulnerable and fragile pieces of historical art are.
The Monuments Men reminds us that even though we all know who painted the Mona Lisa, it’s her enigmatic smile that gives the painting its timeless humanity.
Clooney’s film focuses on the human essence of art—the brushstrokes, the patience, the precision, the talent. This is what we are.
As the soldiers fight their way through the film, the Monuments Men answer what exactly we are struggling for— history you can’t put a price on or reclaim once it’s gone.
Hitler wanted to reduce European history to ashes and the film shows us how terrifyingly close he came. Under all the war action and clowning around, Clooney’s message is that these artworks are essentially a symbol of our humanity.
Go see The Monuments Men. Whether you’re a history student who wants to see how much you’ve actually learned or just a movie buff who wants to have a laugh with Murray or share a tear with Clooney, this is one history lesson you won’t want to miss.
