Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed

Powerful story of redemption
What a powerful story of redemption!

I just saw the movie in the theaters and could not wait to get home to pre-order the DVD.

This is a story to be thoughtfully considered many times, on many levels. Some will see only the action, others will marvel at the authentic war machine, the planes and tanks and soldiers. Some will say that the virtue of this story is that it is "real", a portrayal of ordinary souls trying to maintain their decency amidst the ugliness of war.

But there is a much more powerful theme. It's been said that every good story is a story of personal redemption, the transformation of an individual from flawed humanity to someone with a spark of the Divine. And we see that, in Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed. There were scenes in this movie where you could feel the transformation taking place. It gripped your heart and wrenched emotions that you don't often feel in movies. I'm not sure I've ever seen finer acting as in those...

Run of the mill WWII yarn...With some twists...
Simple safe heroic script. The writers enhance our concern for the three US Paratroopers by inserting key flashbacks that effected each of their lives. Predictably this all plays out in the final battle scene. Even a German soldier finds redemption. Beware ladies! Have your supply of tears ready! Produced with a low budget and reenactors there is a feel of the quality of a bigger picture. Makes for a good rental!

Worth it
Although hard not to compare with the first episode of Saints and Soldiers, I also liked this one as well. The story is told differently, more flash-backs and plenty of action but it didn't feel like it compared to the first movie. The character development is slow, but worth it. The end of this film is the highlight of the film and very similar to Ryan's student film back in college. It really ties up the loose ends of the film. Really about the humanity of the soldiers that fight and not just about negative stereotypes about Nazis and Germans like in other WWII films.

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