It doesn’t even have to be that the message is bad or completely objective and propaganda fuelled, it could just be its often incredibly recited, copied and pasted or just a blatantly obvious good lesson that you are completely aware of.
It doesn’t even have to be that the message is bad or completely objective and propaganda fuelled, it could just be its often incredibly recited, copied and pasted or just a blatantly obvious good lesson that you are completely aware of.
There’s an argument that there’s no such thing as an anti war movie. Basically, movies are a recreative art medium. As such, any movie that intends to hold the attention of the audience all the way through, will make aesthetic or narrative concessions that will accidentally glorify war in turn. Some even go as far as claiming that any portrayal of war, even if negative, is promoting war.
It reminds me of Come and See (1985), which is a great horrible movie. But often some of the things being portrayed are so well framed and filmed that it is truly beautiful at times. Even if the subject material is extremely horrifying. And the hook to keep the audience watching wanders into morbidity.
In contrast with 20 days in Mariupol (2023), which I almost didn’t finish. Because it was true documented horror without any sort of grand narrative. A documentary doesn’t have to tell you war is hell. Movies, however, tend to wax poetic about it and end up romanticizing even the worst parts.
Some arguments are stupid and that certainly is one of them. It can be difficult to make a movie about war that involves combat not lean into glorifying the violence, but there are movies that only show the horrible side of war without even risking the chance of glorifying violence.
Grave of the Fireflies just off the top of my head.