American Sniper: 'Eroticism of War' Rankles Critics (Corriere Della Sera, Italy)
"In Iraq Chris
Kyledoesn't find deer - he finds men. The
substance is the same though. Only the explanation for his actions differ ('I
do it to protect my companions'). Anyway, the thin, impalpable smile that the
sniper keeps on his face in a context so dramatic - and his 'addiction' to battle
that manifests during his time off at home suggests a relationship that is far
from ambiguous about the 'eroticism of war.' And it is this, perhaps, that
disturbs some, scandalizes many, and satisfies the rest."
Some like
it and some don't. At the box office it rakes piles of dollars. Critics for the
most part are shredding it. Nevertheless it will be one of the starts of Oscar night.
American Sniper is perhaps the most
controversial film of recent years. An actor in a state of grace, Bradley
Cooper, a director free of black marks (will this be his first?) Clint Eastwood, and a story – a true one – capable of winning the
hearts of audiences in any country. Yet
the story of sniper Chris Kyle, setting aside small discrepancies between his
memoir which was made into a film and the final screenplay (more than
legitimate artistic license: what does it matter that is the real soldier
enlisted when he was 25 while in the film he is 30?) has created controversy
and two opposing camps armed against the other. On one side are those excited
by it (even Sarah Palin …); on the other are those who see it as crypto-fascist
rubbish (Michael Moore).
Why such an uproar?
Much has been said about this film. So we'll try not to repeat theses that
have already been examined in detail. We will not speak about adherence to actual events or the controversy
surrounding libel suits that the real Chris Kyle has bequeathed to his family.
Starting from the premise that a story, when it reaches the big screen, loses
all touch with reality and itself becomes a "fiction," perhaps the issue
that most polarizes opinion is to be found in the character of the protagonist.
In short, what are the feelings that Bradley Cooper (an extraordinary actor who
portrays a soldier with a Texan country-boy character: clear ideas, few doubts
and physical strength) has been able to arouse in the public?
Posted By Worldmeets.US
At the center of it all is the war. Presented with a good
dose of realism but from a perspective that likely goes in a direction the
reverse of a film like Platoon, just to
give an opposing example (the Vietnam conflict seen from below, wickedness punished
anyway). The war of sniper Chris is, in our opinion, a war that exalts the instinct
of the hunter, the desire to kill the “enemy” (who is an all-round bad guy)
being akin to physical pleasure (here it is perhaps opportune to recall the
epic assaults of the Indians on American settlers in Cormac McCarthy’sAll the Pretty
Horses).
Chris is a professional, a man who learned the art of striking
at a distance from his father, and a man who never had any doubts about the prey
in his viewfinder. In Iraq he doesn't find deer – he finds men. The substance is
the same though. Only the explanation for his actions differ (“I do it to
protect my companions”). Anyway, the thin, impalpable smile that the sniper
keeps on his face in a context so dramatic - and his “addiction” to battle that
manifests during his time off at home suggests a relationship that is far from ambiguous
about the “eroticism of war.” And it is this, perhaps, that disturbs some, scandalizes
many, and satisfies the rest.
