Paths of Glory

Spoiler Alerts* (you probably won't watch this film anyway)  Paths of Glory is an anti-war film made in 1957 and set during the first World War. It was written and directed by Stanley Kubrick who based the film off of the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Kirk Douglas plays Colonel Dax, a French commanding officer who sees the fallacy of hypocrisy in War. This film gives us a dramatization of French army politics in 1916 during World War I,  which were a brutal battleground all of their own through Kubrick’s grim but honest lens.  With progressive undertones, Kubrick peruses the issues of post-traumatic stress disorder, friendly fire, and due process. This film shows us the profane side of war, one that was not as popular in that day in age and today remains clandestine. Dax’s point of view is shown through the eyes of logic. However, General Paul Mireau,  played by George Macready, clearly had his own agenda, refused all logic, and was pursuing his political promotions through the killing of innocent and brave soldiers. Using the brave people of the military for propagation of political power is not an old story, but one that could be retold very easily on the current wars that our men and women are fighting as well as the war on drugs. 

 

Mireau gives the orders for the men of the 701st Regiment to take the anthill, a German occupied position that is well defended, and impregnable according to Dax. He informs Dax that most of his men will die and that 5% will likely die of friendly fire. Dax reluctantly agrees, not wanting to be separated from his own men. Mireau knows that this is an impossible feat, but wants to give it  try in order to get his promotion of another star. The next day when the men of the 701st are sent out, the B company refuses to go out into the carnage of men dropping like flies, knowing that it is a suicide mission. Mireau orders them (his own men) to be fired upon but the Battery Commander, Captain Rousseau (John Stein) refuses to comply with Mireau's order and keeps his men held back. Dax returns to the trench to find them there and his attempts to rally them falls on deaf ears as a body knocks him off the ladder. The consequence is that the men of the regiment who retreated or stayied in the trenches are court marshaled for cowardice by General Mireau and General George Broulard (who is played by Adolphe Menjou). 

The logic that Dax follows in response to the court marshal is important to the film because it reveals the fallacy of the war itself as well as the politics that fuels it in the first place.  In the beginning of the film we learn that Dax is one of France’s top criminal defense attorneys.  When Dax points out that they should just execute himself instead of the men of company B, we can assume that he in fact is implying that if anyone should face a firing squad, it should be the scumbag General Mireau since he is the leader of the entire regiment. 

Hypocrisy is pointed out in the context of friendly fire as well. One of the ugliest aspects of war, this subject is still taboo today and has been under a lot of scrutiny with the case of Pat Tillman. Lt. Roget, played by Wayne Morris is in charge of a night patrol. He takes along two men. One of these men is  killed when a drunken Roget impetuously throws a grenade out into the dark. He fails to report his mistake and lies about the death of the soldier. Dax seems suspicious of Roget, but doesn’t peruse it, probably because he was more worried about invading the anthill. This shows us that friendly fire deaths went greatly under reported and probably still do today. 

The film also sheds early light on the issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  We see a man who is clearly not in his right mind referred to as a baby and subsequently punched by General Mireau as he does a very political meet and greet with the men of the 701st in the trench. Mireau claims that there is no such thing as ‘shell shock”. This is a metaphor for the military failing to address the mental health issues of the men returning from battle. With little advancement or recognition, as well as treatment in subsequent wars, this is yet another form of casualty that Kubrick points out. 

Kubrick’ s signiature intense style is shown in the scene where Dax is walking through and past the men of the 701st Regiment as they are standing against the sides for cover against the barrage.  This scene foreshadows his 1975 film The Shining which has quite memorable hallway scenes. We see the camera angle change from Dax’s point of view, looking directly into the eyes of the men, to the men’s point of view looking directly into Dax’s eyes.  The shells are heard roaring overhead and many fall very closely, some falling onto Dax and his men. Blowing a whistle between his teeth and with a pistol in his hand, Dax climbs a ladder as a soldier is heard counting down.  During the battle, no music is played . Only the orchestra of booms, bangs, shells clanking and whistles blowing. In scenes where intensity needs to be heightened, Kubrick uses a drum that gives a sense of urgency to a mere meeting of men. He also uses large open and fancy spaces as an environment where diabolical plots are formed.  Douglas’s voice during the trial sounds echo and hallow, like he is speaking into a vacuum. Which we find that he actually is because no one is listening to him. Another aspect of the cinematography is the casting itself.  Kubrick uses the appearances of the actors to generate assumptions on their character. The portly General Broulard is obviously not a soldier and didn’t get to his station in life from the bravery of coming out of the trenches. With the scar on the face of Mireau, we can assume hat he must of been in battle at one time, but has since been corrupted by the hunger for political power. Kubrick’s scenes are tight and acute with the use of the first person point of view. With a voyeuristic and Hitchcock-esque element, he draws the audience into the scene by showing us the same information as the character involved. Thus becoming a shared experience, tying the audience and character closer together. 

The men accused of being cowards are given a sham of a trial with Dax being the defense attorney, the audience feels the 3 accused may stand a fair chance of exoneration. But, the trial is 3 hours away and no evidence is allowed to be admitted or witnesses called. This shows a clear lack of due process. The Guantanomo Bay detainess could probably relate. Because it is in a time of war, it is justified that they not be given a fair trial. The men are ordered to be executed, but not before a dramatic scene with Private Arnaud (Joe Turkel).

Wen a priest comes to deliver the news to the three accused that they will be executed. Private Arnaud becomes belligerent. He refuses to pray or confess because he would feel like a hypocrite for not being religious prior to learning that he would die. After punching the priest, he is knocked into a wall and is fatally wounded. 

Of the three men who were shot as cowards none were as big of a coward as General Mireau. Instead of coming to terms with is own mistake, sacrificing innocent lives of soldiers to progress his career, he chooses to act on his shame induced narcissism. Kubrick’s theme is unrelenting and he sacrifices the lives of the men in order to drive home his themes as only he can. Kubrick doesn’t give much gratification for karmic wrong-doings of the Generals, but in the case of Roget, he makes him pay. Dax ordered Roget to be the executioner, obviously aware of his past indiscretion of killing his peer, as well as his decision to choose the three men who were going to be murdered. Dax felt that he owed it to Roget to teach him a lesson. He would never forgive himself for shooting three innocent men in the head that he had condemned, unlike the man he carelessly blew up with a grenade and then wrote off on a whim. 

Dax quotes Samuel Johnson on patriotism saying that it is “the last refuge of the scoundrel". With the rhetoric of today’s nationalist “patriots” we see this quote play out in draconian immigration laws as well as a justification for massive military spending and the patriot act itself. Not to mention two wars which, if opposed, you may very likely be called unpatriotic. The final scene mocks the same sense of patriotism. The captured girl singing to all the drunken soldiers is weeping. Usually, a song at the end of a film would illicit warm fuzzy closure but Paths of Glory is absent of nostalgia. Instead, we feel remorse and disgust and reflection. This scene hits the heart the film’s themes and ties it all together in an unforgettable way.