There are not many good movies made about World War I.  There are those out there who barely know of the conflict’s existence, much less what took place during it.  Most have heard of World War II, so it stands to reason that it had its predecessor.  Before the second one came along, the global hostilities between 1914 and 1918 that saw millions slaughtered for little gain was sometimes referred to as “The Great War.”  If you are aware of the bloody quagmire that typified the trenches of France and Belgium, you too would have trouble thinking of it as anything resembling “great.”  This is one of the reasons for why filmmakers have struggled to make anything compelling about World War I.  For four years, armies faced each other over largely the same few miles of mud, indiscriminately murdering each other, and that is supposed to make for cinematic entertainment?  Well, it might not be surprising if you are familiar with his work that Stanley Kubrick attempted to do so.  The result is Paths of Glory (1957).  It is not bad.  Depressing, but pretty good otherwise.

Before we get to the remarkably well re-created trenches of the Western Front in Paths of Glory, we see the highly decorated Brigadier General Paul Mireau (George Macready) meet with his superior, Major General Georges Broulard (Adolphe Menjou).  General Mireau has a reputation for getting results, which is why General Broulard has asked the divisional commander to take a German position known as the “Ant Hill.”  Despite the diminutive name, General Mireau tells his corps commander that the task is an impossible one.  It is well manned and protected, an impregnable position.  What changes General Mireau’s mind is the promise of a promotion for carrying out this order.  With the chance of advancement, suddenly the impossible mission becomes doable.  The person chosen to actually do it is Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), the commanding officer of the 701^st regiment.  He, too, goes through the same logic as General Mireau did with General Broulard.  General Mireau presses on, talking about what he considers an acceptable number of casualties in order to take the objective and hold it.  He ends by saying that it will be another commander to lead the assault.  To Colonel Dax, it appears that his bravery is being called into question, and he insists on leading the charge.  Before doing so, he orders one of his company commanders, Lieutenant Roget (Wayne Morris), to take two of his men out at night in order to reconnoiter the German lines.  Before they get too close to the enemy trenches, Lieutenant Roget loses his nerve, throws a grenade, and runs back to his own side of no man’s land.  His act of cowardice gets one of his men killed.  The other, Corporal Philippe Paris (Ralph Meeker), returns to the French trenches and is not pleased with his lieutenant.  Threats are exchanged, but before they get too far, Colonel Dax enters the room and reminds Lieutenant Roget of the need for the report of their activities.  The next day, the attack commences with Colonel Dax out front of his men.  With artillery shells bursting all around them, machine gun bullets whistling among them, and having to navigate the rough terrain, the 701^st struggles forward.  Unfortunately, the men under Lieutenant Roget never leave their trench.  Colonel Dax notices this and comes back to try to get them to move, unsuccessfully.  At the same time, observing the assault from safety, General Mireau sees the immobile company and sends word to his artillery to fire on the friendly position.  His order is refused, but it becomes a moot point when the rest of the attack falters and they begin to retreat.  A furious General Mireau wants someone to blame.  This means making examples out of random soldiers in the 701^st, an idea he comes up with in front of Colonel Dax and General Broulard.  General Dax is horrified.  As for General Broulard, he manages to soften General Mireau.  Instead of ten men from each company to face so-called military justice through court martial and execution, they narrow it down to three.  Colonel Dax is allowed to be the one to defend them, though the proceedings are a sham.  They are not given a fair chance to defend themselves, and it is clear the panel of officers have already made up their minds as to the guilt of the men despite none of them having actually acted with any cowardice.  They are to made an example of, and there is no getting around it.  Colonel Dax is not pleased, and refuses to let the matter drop.  After the trial, he is visited by Captain Nichols (Harold Benedict), the artillery officer that refused to fire on his own men.  He informs Colonel Dax as to what General Mireau attempted.  Colonel Dax then collects sworn affidavits from everyone else with knowledge of General Mireau’s actions.  Unfortunately, it is not enough to prevent the execution by firing squad.  The next day, General Broulard asks Colonel Dax to meet with him and General Mireau.  At this encounter, General Broulard presents the evidence of General Mireau’s guilt.  The junior general attempts to deny the truth of the matter, but leaves in disgrace.  Next, General Broulard offers a disgusted Colonel Dax General Mireau’s command.  Colonel Dax forcefully refuses, and General Broulard chides the regimental commander for his idealism. Surprisingly, Colonel Dax is allowed to return to his regiment.  He gets to them just as they are listening to a captured German sing a song to the men, to which they all start humming.  This all comes just as they are being ordered back to the front.

When Stanley Kubrick does a war film, and Paths of Glory is no different, it is to underscore the absurdity of such undertakings.  In this specific case, the focus is on the way nobody wants to take responsibility for the failure to capture the Ant Hill.  Because the generals ordered it, it should have succeeded.  Because it did not, it is obviously because of cowardice in the 701^st.  Colonel Dax is among those who see the evil in their attitude.  The other is Father Duprée (Emile Meyer), though he is there to get to the bottom of a different kind of guilt.  His focus is not on military matters, but on giving the three condemned soldiers the opportunity to make their last Confessions.  There is an interesting moment when Father Duprée comes to Corporal Paris for this Sacrament.  Corporal Paris says that he would not feel right talking about his sins at such a moment because he has never been a religious man, and that he would feel like a hypocrite.  Father Duprée’s simple answer is to remind Corporal Paris that God is always listening.  Corporal Paris did not want to Confess because it has apparently been a long time since he had approached God in this manner.  This one little reminder is all he needs because in the next moment he is punching one of the other condemned for mocking his sudden conversion.  The thing is that it is possible to have that quick of a change of heart.  God is always waiting for us to do so, particularly for those who had strayed from the Faith.  War often brings such declarations out of people facing death, which suggests a deeper sense of God beyond which we currently understand, and may never comprehend.

The only experience of Paths of Glory that I had before watching it tonight was seeing it in a clip on Parks and Recreation (2009-2015).  Now that I have viewed Paths of Glory, it might be my favorite Kubrick film.  The battle scenes are well handled and it is an interesting, if sad, story.  It is also short, so it has that going for it.