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A Major Disappointment

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The movie focused on Confederate cadets which was an interesting way to view the civil war. The characters were young and close to my age. This gave a sense of reality to me, that people around my age lost their lives. What was more intriguing was how an effect on the deaths of the cadets was so severe to people around them. They were all friends with each other, it is impossible for me to imagine losing my friends, especially in such a traumatic way. The storyline between Libby and Sam gave the audience more to think about with soldiers personally, how their loved ones are effected and the heartbreak of losing a loved one. Another very interesting concept shown was how compassionate the cadets were towards African Americans, especially being Confederate soldiers. The scene where the boys snuck out of line to save a black woman was very surprising. The overall the movie was very interesting and easy to follow, and it gave me lots more to think about with the war.

While this movie may have not been the most accurate as far as miniscule detail goes this movie was actually quite an emotional roller coaster showing different more personal elements of the civil war. This movie not only shows how personal the civil war touched many but also showed how for many confederate soldiers they did not know what they were really fighting for. When many think of the confederacy and the men who fought to defend it many in their minds will be quick to blame slavery however these boys who were drafted into the military were actually fighting in the name of their family and friends and not for slavery. In fact one boy was actually emotionally scared by slavery and seeing it first hand, having sympathy for them. This just goes to show that the civil war was not just a passing crossfire between the North and South but rather something that broke up families relationships. Which is why I give this movie 7 stars.

This movie's narrative is split between two stories: a handful of boys at a military academy who are learning to become men; and a handful of military commanders planning their fate. Unfortunately, one of these stories is far more interesting than the other. The boys at the school prank one another, get into trouble, hit on the local girls, and dream of becoming war heroes. We see the same "brother in arms" narrative that has pervaded most movies, except here is seems forced and unnatural. The actors do their part and do it pretty well, but I feel at times the writing is pretty clunky. Occasionally we cut from the boys to various military leaders (and President Lincoln) and hear their perspectives, ideas, opinions, and watch as they try to out-fox one another. I was far more interested in this b-story than I was seeing young boys awkwardly dance and talk to girls. The film really picks up in the third act when we FINALLY get to see some of the war. The production is great and could stand beside any Civil War in terms of quality. By this point in the story, however, I had lost patience with the characters and just kind of zoned out. Strong ending, but the first half of the movie is pretty rough.

The plot line of this movie was mainly focused on the confederate side of the Civil War. It added a different viewpoint because the battle that was fought was won by the confederates, yet the whole war was won by the union. Field of Lost Shoes provides the sense of friendship and loyalty that most soldiers acquired during training. These friendships were often the only thing that kept their spirits up and gave them a reason fight and survive. The added love interest to the film showcased another realistic reason for young men to join the army, and also helped the plot to be more interesting. The Battle of New Market was the high point of the movie and was definitely not a major fight in the war so the production for it correlated to that. There probably could have been more people involved in some scenes to create a greater impact and make the movie more legitimate. The names of the soldiers were based off of real life people and the cadets who died were also the same. The connection to real history makes the film all the better and creates a true Civil War feel. In all, the movie was heartfelt and lightened the blow on how violent the Civil War actually was. It was not a very gruesome film but considering the battle, it did not have to be. There were some historical errors, which is understandable to help move the story along and to add excitement.