The Monuments Men

Based on a true story, director George Clooney delivers a moving portrayal of the undercover operation in which seven men attempt to retrieve and protect valuable pieces of art and culture which would otherwise have been destroyed in the Second World War. The film raises powerful issues which surround the calamity of war including the importance of art to culture and identity, the impact of history in the making and what it takes to truly erase an entire culture and not just its people.

George Clooney stars as Lieutenant Frank Stokes, the man who persuades the president that victory will be devoid of meaning if valuable pieces of art are lost in the process. Upon receiving the president’s approval, Stokes begins to gather his team of former art experts to locate and retrieve stolen pieces and return them to their owners and restore honour and pride to Western culture. Stokes’s team is comprised of the all-star cast including, Hugh Bonneville, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Matt Damon. These legendary actors then provide humour to an otherwise serious story as their aged characters are forced to confront the realities of war and live combat having spent most of their life in the warm comfort of an office!

Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett also stars as a frustrated curator based in Paris who is trying to defend her pieces of art from Hitler and his soldiers, whilst also suspecting some of the Allies of being art looters. Tensions run high and frustrations build as Stokes’s team face opposition from all sides of the war, including the Allies who care little for the importance of art when it stands in the way of a brilliant tactical advance.

Full of poignancy, laughs and tears, The Monuments Men is a fantastic film to watch for anyone.

Lauren Howard