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A Midnight Clear (1991)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
Winter in the Ardennes, late 1944. Snow covers the ground, Hitler's armies are in retreat and the Americans are here to save the day like John Wayne and his cavalry! Perhaps in a typical war movie but not in A Midnight Clear. Instead we find ourselves with a unit of six men picked for their high intelligence scores, although since there were originally twelve men perhaps this doesn't help much, and placed on the front line. The men are uniformly young, generally naive and somehow idealistic under the impact of the violence around them.

Under the command of their Major, who cares as little for live soldiers as he does for dead ones, the squad is sent to capture an abandoned chateau and look for enemy activity. Is the building under German control? - "You'll just have to find out, won't you." An omen of things to come appears when the squad come upon a bizarre statue blocking the road - in an icy embrace two soldiers are locked together in an eternal tango, one American and the other German. Echoes of this scene are found at the chateau where figures dot the grounds, shrouded in snow. Luckily the house turns out to have unplundered stores and the squad settle down to a comfortable week - until the Germans make their presence known.

Unconventionally, in a series of confrontations, the most offensive weapons used are snowballs! The Germans turn out to be more experienced, having survived the Russian Front, but equally war-weary and eager to formulate their own small bubble of peace. The consequences of this armistice lead to a shocking conclusion, after which the pictures loses some pace as it explores the after-effects. The acting by the entire cast is excellent with the subtle musical score adding to the atmosphere when required. Although the conclusion, that war is a waste, is clichéd the path taken is one of unusual beauty and surprise.

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