Saturday, December 10, 2016

"Hacksaw Ridge" is Extremely Bloody, But Seriously Moral


Mel Gibson makes gorefests, and this film is no exception.

However, the true story of Desmond Doss, the conscientious objector in World War II who won the Medal of Honor as a medic for saving many wounded under fire is worth the time.

The core story is about moral courage, as both different than, and inspiring to, physical courage.

As we face a rising tide of fascism around the world, we may need both.

1 comment:

Mac said...

For those of us who have actually served in combat--I was a rifle platoon commander in Vietnam--I can assure you that (with the possible exception of the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan) nothing on the screen comes close to the gore of actual combat. That is because we have not perfected a way to transmit the smell and real sound of a prolonged firefight, or the utter exhaustion and visceral horror of a firefight. And Desmond Doss was merely one of thousands of Medics and Corpsmen who served with valor. A total of 10 Army Medics and 6 Navy Corpsmen were awarded the Medal of Honor in WWII. Hundreds of others received the Navy Cross or Distinguished Service Cross. Most of the Medals of Honor were awarded posthumously (Army 5/10; Navy 4/6).

I suppose the attraction of PFC Doss was that he was a conscientious objector and refused to carry a weapon. But his gallantry was no less than any of the other men who were awarded the Medal of Honor, especially the 9 who in every instance were treating and protecting their soldiers and Marines up to the times of their deaths.