Saints and Soldiers: The Void

Germany, May 1945, the twilight of WWII. On a final mission deep in the Harz mountains a U.S. tank crew discovers a platoon of Germans, including three infamous Panzer tanks, preparing to ambush allied supply trucks.

Before the war, Sergeant Jesse Owens, was a product of segregation and racial discrimination. Forced by law to ride in the back of the bus and disenfranchised from the political process. As the Germans bear down on the Americans, Owens fights the Axis powers for a freedom he and his fellow African American soldiers have never felt.

With a deadly game of cat and mouse quickly unfolding, Owens and his predominantly white tank crew find themselves out-gunned and out-manned by the German Panzer tanks. Several in Owens’ crew are reluctant to put their faith in a black tank driver despite their dire circumstances. With tension and fear beginning to manifest Owens knows they must put aside their differences to stop the enemy from their deadly plan. Knowing that a victory over the Nazis means a victory for racial justice, Owens and his men find a way to work together to save hundreds of lives in a desperate battle against the greatest odds they have ever faced.

I was invited to the premier of Saints and Soldiers: The Void a few weeks ago. I have to say, it was a fantastic movie, even better than I expected. The time is set toward the end of WWII and deals with issues of race and prejudice among the soldiers. Early in the film, one of the black soldiers makes a comment about the irony of being in a war, fighting the worlds biggest bigot (HItler) while still being segregated both there and at home. He has a point. Black people may not have been shuffled into concentration camps, but they also couldn't drink out of just any water fountain or sit at the front of the bus.

It's fairly obvious what the end game of the movie is going to be, but the journey there is pretty incredible. Like any movie about war, it has intense drama and lots of shooting and dead people, but it also has it's lighthearted moments, particularly from Michael Todd Behrens character, Ramrod.

Really good movie with a great message. And it was nice to sit in a war movie with my parents next to me and not have to cringe at excessive f-bombs (this is rated PG13, I'm guessing mainly for the violence and some racial slurs). So take your family and go see this worthwhile movie that releases this weekend.

Just for fun, I'm giving away a DVD of both the first and second Saints and Soldiers movies, Saints and Soldiers, and Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed. Watch the movie trailer, then scroll down to enter. Unfortunately, due to prohibitive shipping costs, I have to keep this contest domestic.


 


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