Monuments men movie summary. THE MONUMENTS MEN 2019-02-23

The Monuments Men 2014

It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys — seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 — possibly hope to succeed? In 1977, the elderly Stokes takes his grandson to see Michelangelo's Madonna sculpture, amid large crowds of youth appreciating the pieces of humanity's creativity that his men sacrificed so much to preserve in war. One major looted art repository was at the Altaussee Salt Mines in Styria, Austria, pictured above. On May 4, 1945, Rorimer finally reached Neuschwanstein. The Monuments Men is a lackluster and unsatisfying watch, especially if you know the true story. In addition, it also discovers gold assets of the Nazi German national treasury, the capture of which effectively bankrupts the regime. Communication was difficult; he was often unable to contact Posey. Center Street Hitler drew up plans to make the Führermuseum in Linz, Austria his hometown, his Florence , and fill it with art taken from countries he would conquer.

THE MONUMENTS MEN

Germany is losing the war and the allied troops continue to advance on Berlin. Meanwhile, Simone reconsiders when Granger shows her the Nero Decree to destroy all German possessions if Hitler dies or Germany falls, and when she sees Granger return a painting looted from a Jewish family murdered in the death camps to its rightful place as a symbolic gesture. Donald Jeffries of the British Army attempts to arrange the safety of a Belgian church with valuable artwork and is killed attempting to prevent the Nazi Colonel Wegner from stealing a statue of the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind's greatest achievements. Monuments Men Foundation We are also introduced to the key European players in the story: Jacques Juajard, director of the French National Museum, and Rose Valland, secretary at the Jeu de Paume museum. When she runs to the railyard to confront Stahl, he fires on her with his pistol; although she does not seek cover, she is not hit, but can only watch helplessly as Stahl escapes with the stolen artwork.

The Monuments Men (2014)

The art was untouched, and the Nazi records and catalogues of the art were still in their filing cabinets. As a result, the team evacuates as much artwork as possible, including the sculpture Jeffries died defending, before the Soviets arrive. He does and when she asks him to stay to sleep with her , he says he should go and then leaves. To make an empire out of Germany, the greatest the world had ever seen…Berlin would be his Rome, but a true artist-emperor needed a Florence. Some over-the-hill art scholars, historians, architects and other experts form a unit to retrieve as many of the stolen masterpieces as possible. Bob Balaban plays Preston Savitz, based on Lincoln Kirstein. He rejected this painting and many others when they were presented to him by members of his air force.

Delicious Reads: Monuments Book Review {by Robert M. Edsel}

And the ones he got often broke down. Some cooperated, while others did not. Of course she was the only woman mentioned so it was easy to stand out, but we loved her attitude too. The monuments men who volunteered to go to the fronts lines of battle showed sacrifice and bravery in order to preserve cultural significant pieces of art. . These are the places that Hitler has used to hide the stolen goods. The son-in-law told them the location of Goering's collection as well as Hitler's stash at Altaussee.

Delicious Reads: Monuments Book Review {by Robert M. Edsel}

More than five million cultural objects had been transported by the Nazis to the Third Reich, and it was their task to return them. Stout also noted that there were plans for the demolition of the mine. Map designed by Esri The Allies knew of Altaussee thanks to a toothache. There's an appropriately underplayed sequence of the men discovering a wooden barrel filled with tiny, misshapen bits of gold, then riding a freight elevator in silence as they think about where the bits came from. We then see his friend holding onto him after he's passed on. Stout was told to move everything by July 1. Realizing the Americans are serious in their intentions, she eventually provides a comprehensive ledger that provides valuable information to identify stolen art.

'The Monuments Men' Reviews: Book and Film

Each of them brings their own comedic and dramatic dynamic. Through the lens of life in Karlsruhe, he describes the history of the Jews in Europe leading up to 1938. Stout rarely mentioned his central role campaigning for the Monuments Men and then saving countless pieces of priceless art during the war. The Allies had won the war. The most upsetting fabrication is that the film, as opposed to the book, portrays the Monuments Men operating as a unit, which undercuts their true heroism. Then on May 7, 1945, the Germans unconditionally surrendered. The Monuments Men is a book that tells a story that has been long ignored.

The Monuments Men 2014

Some scenes do feel a little like filler, especially before you realize later what they were there for, but even the more frivolous scenes just help paint the picture of life during the war back then. As Hitler and the Nazis moved across Europe, occupying Paris and bombing London, the American museum community began preparing for war. Despite being a town of historical significance, 95 percent of Saint-Lô had been destroyed. The Germans built floors, walls, and shelving as well as a workshop deep in the chambers. Caught in a race against time, the men risk their lives to protect some of mankind's greatest achievements. The next morning Stout accompanied them to the Munich collecting point. And Cate Blanchett plays Claire Simone, based on Rose Valland.

Detailed Review Summary of The Monuments Men

However, if the content really affects the reviewer's opinion and experience of the film, it will definitely affect the reviewer's overall rating. While she is nearly arrested for helping her Maquis brother unsuccessfully recapture such items, all seems lost when she discovers that Stahl is taking all of her gallery's contents to Germany as the Allies approach Paris. To purge, and then rebuild. When they arrived in Europe, however, they found this was not the case. They're mostly too old or out-of-shape to be effective soldiers, and they're aware that the combat troops they pass in the field would support their mission only to the point where they had to choose between saving a Picasso and getting shot. Edsel paints the picture of an investigative haze, filled with doubt and lacking information.