There is no way “A Few Good Men” Aaron Sorkin didn’t watch
this movie.
The story is of four young American soldiers who are accused
of raping a German girl. Ouch. Their punishment if found guilty…Death. Super
ouch.
In comes Major Steve Garret, played by Kirk Douglas, a tough
attorney for the young men. He’s a slick smart guy who sees the entire picture
but still dissects the truth. This movie was ghost written by Dalton Trumbo,
which you can TOTALLY see the witch hunt and unhappy life of an attorney who
suffers the consequences of a small town that doesn’t like what he’s attempting
to do.
The girl in question is Karin (Christine Kaufmann), a
promiscuous girl who spent time with her boyfriend by the river bank. When they
have an argument she goes off into the woods to sulk. That’s when the American
G.I.s come across her.
In a movie of this era that addressed gang-rape this is as
close to hearing the painful details as can be. They get incredibly close to
the description of the event. What makes this movie devastating is that Garrett
is haunted at being a defense attorney. To see victims face their accusers, or
have accusers become victims is at the heart of this story. And the town in
question has their opinion. Which is a microcosm of how our world works today
too. Ironic that Robert Blake plays one of the accused who had a similar trial
with the death of Bonnie Blakely.
The trial is covered by a feisty reporter, Inge Koerner
(Barbara Ruttlin) who narrates the story from her perspective of the story. If
you pull away from the actual case, it’s brilliant. A reporter can translate
the German to English via voice over. Brilliant! And her choice of digging deep
while allowing information to pour from Garrett is fantastic. Also, the title
of the movie is genius…you think it means one thing, but actually means another
at the end of the flick.
Excellent movie!
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