"Behind the Lines"

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer analyzes the film "Behind the Lines" and looks at soldiers that are all victims of World War I. The writer discusses that the film implies that the soldiers are also all victims of the folly of the previous generation of European leaders. The writer describes that the film, in chronicling the rehabilitation of British soldiers, thus makes a case that the 'war to end all wars' was actually a class-based war, waged by the rich for the sake of preserving their way of life, that killed both the next generations, of rich and working-class young men. The writer concludes that whether one agrees or disagrees with its historical assessment, the film's accuracy in terms of the literature and incidents it cites, gives it an ideological weight.

Outline:
Introduction--Plot Analysis and Theme
Body - Historical Accuracy and Thematic Analysis
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Although the film is set behind the battle lines, the presence of the futile 'no man's land' is present in the minds and the images of the entire film. The film is structured in a serious of flashbacks, flashing from wartime past to present, from present to the childhoods of the young men. The ever-present tyranny of the aristocracy is underlined by the location of the film, a Scottish Castle that was used as a military hospital for wounded officers. This is based upon an actual wartime 'truth,' namely that such old relics of the past gentry were used as hospitals. The image also creates a poignant and pointed backdrop that underlines the main themes of the film visually, namely that the beauty of such old ways of life was not worth the tremendous suffering used to preserve such a way of living."

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