Paths of Glory

Paths Of Glory is actually a bit of an outlier in Stanley Kubrick's filmography. Although the technical prowess of his direction found in his films is on display the film itself is by far his most humanistic film. Although Kubrick will allow a conduit for the audience to sympathize with or emphasize with to at least some extent he usually plays around with the supporting characters who are purposefully distant and strange. This is not the case in this film which seeks to find the humanity in every one. This includes even the worst characters, such as the cowardly Lieutenant Roget is granted a surprising degree of sympathy, and while this is not granted to glory seeking General Mireau his desperation for that glory is shown within a certain context. He's not made something grotesque, his actions are what grotesque, while we are allowed to see the man who beneath them. This approach realizes Kubrick's most emotionally resonate and powerful film. There is such care given to the soldiers that he allows one to witness the cruelty of the injustice within the system of war, where men are randomly selected for cowardice in order to act as a scape goat for the failures of battle. This isn't a film directly about the horrors of war, rather the horrors of the system that allows it and the insanity and insecurities that allow it thrive. Kubrick allows glints of optimism here, most notably through the powerhouse performance by Kirk Douglas, but just in the general tenderness towards his characters throughout. This is most notable, in Kubrick's greatest scene, which is saying something, where the group of soldiers find a respite in the song The Faithful Hussar, before going off to war once again. It is one of Kubrick's masterpieces, and the success of the film makes me ponder what he might have done with a few more film of this ilk.
5/5