Movie Review: Foxhole (2021)
Synopsis: Three sets of soldiers in three different wars take shelter from the enemy in a foxhole only to be given a moral dilemma, whether it's choosing between maintaining their post or taking a wounded comrade to a field hospital or whether to take an enemy soldier prisoner or kill them.
Who's in it? The movie stars James Le Gros, Alex Breaux, Alex Hurt, Andi Matichak and Cody Kostro.
Review: I came across Foxhole on one of my movie channels several weeks ago and added it to my library because it sounded somewhat unique. I mean, it was a war film, but it was a war film telling three different stories set in three different wars (American Civil War, World War I and the Iraq War). I finally got around to watching it this morning and was pleased with that decision.
While the concept for each story was the same, the various dilemmas each group of soldiers faced were tailored to the specific situation. The Union soldiers from the Civil War segment, for example, had to decide if a wounded Black soldier (Motell Gyn Foster), would survive a trip to a field hospital and, if he did, if he'd even get treatment because of his skin color. The soldiers in the Iraq War, in comparison, needed to decide if a rocket launcher was worth the risk of getting shot.
Even though the segments focused more on the psychological part of war, there was still plenty of action as well. Each scene took place in a situation where one wrong move could result in someone getting shot by an unseen enemy. This kept the film from getting too bogged down from the conversation because, at any given moment, a gunshot could be fired.
I was also impressed with the background of each scene. The Civil War scene was set in a fog-covered (or smoke covered) battlefield that gave almost no visibility. The World War I scene was at night, and the Iraq War scene was in broad daylight. The change-up added a little something extra to the movie in my opinion. Plus, while I would describe this as an artistic film, it wasn't artistic to the point the plot took second.
I think one thing I found interesting about this movie was the decision not to show the end results of their decisions. Each scene was a snapshot of one battle in one war and a lot was left up to the imagination. While I normally prefer closure in movies, leaving things up in the air really worked well with this type of film, both because it kept me invested and ended each scene before they had a chance to drag on and get boring.
Final Opinion: I was afraid this movie would be a bit too artistic for a war film, but it pulls off each scene very well and is an intriguing movie to watch as a result. I'd recommend it.
My Grade: A
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