“The paths of glory lead but to the grave”
“Lest we forget” is a phrase commonly quoted this
time of year, but what exactly is it we’re supposed to be remembering? The
lives of our ancestors who perished in the Great War? The bravery of those who
fought for their country?
Paths
of Glory is a film that reminds us how the real tragedy of
the First World War was how figures of authority allowed so may to die for so
little purpose. The plot describes how a general in the French army (General
Mireau, played by George Macready) instructs his division to embark on a
suicidal mission to take from the Germans a territory called the ‘Anthill’, all
in order for him to strengthen his claim for a promotion. After the mission
inevitably goes wrong and his men retreat, a kangaroo court is held to put on
trial three men singled out for cowardice, with the decent Colonel Dax (Kirk
Douglas) volunteering to defend them.
The film demonstrates how the real villains of World
War One were not the soldiers fighting for the Germans and the Central Powers,
but the authority figures on either side who sent the young men to their
deaths. Although the rhetoric surrounding Remembrance Day is occasionally in
danger of blurring both WW1 and WW2 into the same conflict, it’s important to
remember that the Germans who fought in the former war were not Nazis, but
instead from a similar society to Britain’s at the time. Neither can the modern
virtue of ‘fighting for our freedom’ be retrospectively applied, given how much
of the world was under the British Empire.
The conflict in Paths
of Glory is that of the internal struggle between the French soldiers and
their superiors, rather than between the French soldiers and the German
soldiers. Despite being a war movie, little of Paths of Glory actually takes place on the battlefield with both
sides shooting at each other. Instead, the focus is on the events leading
towards a specific battle, and the subsequent aftermath of when the men refuse
to comply with their superiors’ reckless and careless demands. When General
Miseau even attempts to fire on his own men, the message of the film becomes
clear – the soldiers are in even more danger from their leaders than they are
from the opposite side.
None of the soldiers in the film come across as
noble and heroic; rather, they’re presented instead as tragic victims, who from
the very first scene are shown to be mere sacrifices for the unworthy cause of
their general’s promotion. When the horror of war becomes too much and a soldier is shown breaking down in tears
or suffering from shellshock, we’re prompted to condemn those who condemn them
for lack of bravery, and instead recognise that such despairing outpourings are
the natural response to such tragic circumstances.
The final and most famous scene epitomises how this
film, unlike the generals, treats the soldiers as human beings. A montage of
close-ups of the soldiers’ faces whilst they take part in a sing-a-long is
undeniably moving, and bitterly poignant with the knowledge that most of them
will soon be dead. That the tune they hum along to is a German folk song led by
German captive is especially telling – these solders feel far more of an affinity
to this girl on the enemy side than they do their mansion-residing commanding
officers.
Watching this scene and observing the sadness in
each soldier’s face is perhaps the best way to remember World War One. It is of
course crucial to remember the tragedy of all those lives lost, but to also not
legitimise those deaths by saying their cause was worthy and noble.
SP
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