The Path of the Unfair Man
Paths of Glory (1957) - Stanley Kubrick
War, at its very core, pitting man opposite man, nation against nation, ideology vs. ideology, is objectionable; gainful byproducts—heroism, courage, honor, and freedom—materialize only in the absence of tyranny. Kubrick's Paths of Glory is a luminous albeit controversial examination of this very conflict, in the face of suffering, behind a facade of honor, amidst a path of overwhelming destruction. The real cost of war is not measured in any dollar investment, but in stark contrast, by the morbid tabulations of human loss. World War I drastically altered the landscape of aggression, as trench warfare disintegrated notions of civility. An imprint of cynicism piggybacked victory, as beleaguered soldiers, dehumanized by the brutality of war, were forced to confront an abject reality bound by their corrupt leaders' miserly aims. While Glory, focusing on the plight of soldiers in battle, avoids any inspection of civilian life (The Deer Hunter offers an honest, gut-wrenching glimpse into the plight of veterans' post-war assimilation), it does provide a lens into the fragile psyche of men who are victimized by injustice. Combine the nuanced, harrowing dichotomies of war with Kubrick's uncanny visual eye and Kirk Douglas' impeccable, layered performance, and what emerges is a mesmerizing battlefield of horror. There can be no doubt: Stanley Kubrick is a visual dynamist, an aesthetic raconteur who imparts meaning through image with seldom a word to rely. And, lest I forget, the ending of Kubrick's anti-war yarn is one of the greatest in cinema's glorious history. 10 out of 10