Welcome back to Movie Recap. Today I'm gonna show you a 2014 American war film called,
The Monuments Men. Spoilers ahead. Sit back, relax and enjoy the video.
The film begins in a church in Ghent, Belgium, where two priests supervise an altarpiece to
keep them safe and hidden from the Germans. The scene then changes into Paris, France,
where a Nazi officer, Viktor Stahl, assists a senior German commander, Hermann Göring,
oversee the theft of art inside a museum. Claire, the museum’s curator, silently listens to their
plan to transfer all the art to Germany. The scene then transitions to Lieutenant
Frank Stokes presenting various stolen art pieces to the American President. Stokes convinces the
President that if they win the war, their victory will be meaningless if the artistic treasures of
Western Civilization are lost or destroyed. Stokes suggests using young scholars to
find these stolen historical artworks, but they are all at war, fighting. So,
the President lets Stoke assemble an Army unit nicknamed the “Monuments Men,” composed of various
men tasked to search for the arts that the Nazis stole and return them to their rightful owners.
James Granger, a temporary Lieutenant and curator; Richard Campbell, an architect;
Walter Garfield, a renowned sculptor; Donald Jeffries, a British officer; Preston Savitz,
co-founder of the School of American Ballet; and Jean Claude Clermont, a French man.
After assembling his unit, Stokes gathers his men around and orient them about their
mission. He tells them about Hitler’s plan to build his own Fuhrer museum in his hometown.
It is believed to be the biggest museum in the world if done and would take thousands or
even millions of art to fill. Hitler is already stealing art from Amsterdam, Warsaw, and Paris,
and they will continue to find all the art they can find. However, Hitler’s men are hiding these
arts, and they need to find them and search for the others before the Germans can steal them.
The assumption is that the Germans are hiding the stolen arts in Hitler’s hometown and towards
the east. After the orientation, the men go to Normandy, France, where the Allied forces refuse
Stoke’s request for more men to join his unit. They do not want to sacrifice their troops for
an art mission. So, the Monuments have no choice but to search for those stolen arts on their own.
The men split up to cover more areas with various objectives.
On the other hand, Claire arrives home to find Stahl waiting for her in her own apartment.
Stahl informs her that her brother, who was in the “Resistance,” an underground organization
composed of private individuals to overthrow the Nazi rule, was shot dead. Her brother was trying
to steal a truck full of artwork going to Germany. Stahl then confronts Claire that her brother could
not know about the truck, so it must be her who told him. Claire knows the museum, the artworks,
the collectors, and she was there when Stahl made a business deal with Hermann Göring.
Stahl then asks for Claire’s permission to search her apartment to look for any evidence relating to
the incident. He warns her that if she interferes or finds anything that can be used against her,
Claire will be handed over to the SS. It is the “political soldiers” of the Nazi party.
Meanwhile, the Monuments men are busy with their areas and objectives. James arrives in France
while Stokes accidentally runs into Sam Epstein, a Jewish officer. With the help of Sam, Stokes comes
to Lisieux, where he reunites with an old friend, Major Feilding. Feilding presents numerous crates
with dozens of paintings inside. They took it from the Germans who were escaping to Vernon.
So, Stokes asks an officer to question the Germans about the paintings, but they all remain silent.
However, he remembers that Sam spoke German, so he signals him to listen to the Germans if they talk,
and they do. Sam stands there smoking as he listens intently to two Germans speaking,
unaware that Sam can hear and understand them. As he gathers information, Sam shares with Stokes
that the Germans were going to a town called Siegen. He then points out the commander,
who switched his uniform with his men to avoid being questioned. Sam then talks to the commander
in German, saying that he will give him his best when he sees Hitler. The Germans are too stunned
to speak after discovering the truth. At that same time, Claire chases Stahl
to stop him from delivering all of the gallery’s content to Germany as the Allies approach Paris.
She runs to the railyard to confront him, but she can only watch as Stahl departs aboard the train.
Stahl even releases some gunshot in the air, trying to threaten and scare Claire,
but she remains unfazed. Meanwhile, Stokes arrives at St.Lo in France
with Sam, and they all gather around with some of the Monuments Men as they think of another plan.
Stokes assigns Preston and Campbell to Ghent, Belgium, to retrieve the historical altarpiece.
Garfield and Jean Claude will go to Aachen, Germany, and Donald volunteers to go to the town
of Bruges to retrieve one of Michaelangelo’s famous works, the Madonna and child.
Later that night, Stokes improvises a radio to use as their means of communication. They test it,
and the signal and sound are clear. Using the radio, Stokes gives a speech about the importance
of art in society, culture, and life. People will die, but destroying their achievements and history
will completely wipe out their existence. After hearing that, Jean Claude gives a
short speech about his proudness in being one of the Monuments Men.
Simultaneously, James drinks with a French man named Emile, whose house he is staying in. They
talk about their children with whom they have not communicated for a while now since the war.
The following day, James visits a friend named René, an art curator, who informs him that the
national collection of art is safe, but the private collection is gone. Hermann Göring
took all the art to Germany. So, James shares that the U.S Army will help them get the artwork back,
and they will start with Claire. Later that day, James arrives at the SS prison
and asks for Claire’s assistance, but she refuses to cooperate as she suspects that the Americans
want to confiscate the stolen arts for their own country. On the other hand, Preston and
Campbell discover that the Ghent altarpiece was removed by two priests for safekeeping,
but the Germans found them and took them. The two priests were shot dead.
Preston informs Stokes about this and claims that they will find another way to retrieve the art.
After that, he goes out to get fresh air when a young German soldier appears behind a tree
and aims his gun at Preston. Shortly after, Campbell goes out and notices that Preston
is unarmed in front of a German soldier. Campbell aims his weapon at the soldier
and calmly suggests they quietly put their guns down and part their ways.
However, the soldier cannot understand English, so Campbell thinks of another way.
He puts his gun down, lies on the ground, and Preston and the soldier follow his lead.
Campbell then tosses a cigarette pack to the soldier, who throws it to Preston after
getting a stick. Preston does not smoke, but Campbell urges him to get the soldier’s trust.
So, Preston has no choice but to oblige, and the three of them fill the air with cigarette smoke.
After their smoke bonding, the German soldier and the Americans part ways.
The following day, while Jean Claude talks to a priest, someone shoots at them. The priest
immediately hides inside the parish while Jean Claude and Garfield hide behind the pillars. Jean
Claude instructs Garfield to distract the shooter from the nearby building while he runs inside.
Garfield exchanges shooting with the mysterious shooter until Jean Claude gets inside.
Jean Claude carefully inspects the floors and rooms, looking for the mysterious shooter. After
going through the floors, Jean Claude discovers that the mysterious shooter is a German boy.
The boy surrenders himself as he knows that he has no chance with a mature man like Jean Claude.
Later that night, Donald asks for the Bruge’s Colonel to be in Bruge to protect the Madonna
and child. However, the Colonel shares that they made a deal with the mayor to not go to Bruges.
Donald tries to argue, but the Colonel stops him and firmly says no as they will honor the deal.
Despite that, Donald sneaks to Bruge’s church, where several priests help hide
the Madonna and child. Donald writes a letter to his father telling about his adventure and
involvement with the Monuments Men. However, the Germans arrive at the church shortly after,
and they take the statue. Donald attempts to fight for it, but he gets killed.
The following day, the Colonel promises Stokes to ensure that Donald’s belongings and letters
are sent to his family. Later that night, while Campbell is in the shower, Preston plays a message
from Campbell’s family. It is his daughter and grandchildren singing a Christmas Song.
Campbell’s eyes immediately water as he longs to be with his family.
The following day, Claire reconsiders her decision after James presents to her the Nero Decree.
A directive letter, written by Hitler himself claiming that if he dies or Germany falls,
they will destroy every German possession, including the stolen arts.
After that, James sends the letter to the Monuments Men who are in Remagen, Germany.
Later that day, Preston accompanies Campbell to the dentist to get his tooth out.
The jolly dentist talks to Preston, trying to get them better. Preston shares that they are
art collectors from New York, and the dentist remembers his nephew who studied art in Paris.
After the painful tooth removal, the three go to the dentist’s nephew’s house,
who turns out to be Stahl. He welcomes them, and they sit around the dining table.
Preston refuses to sit and instead inspects the various paintings displayed on the walls.
Stahl claims that they are all just copies. As Campbell tries to converse with Stahl,
he notices that Stahl keeps giving Preston looks as he inspects the paintings.
Then, out of the blue, Preston asks Stahl if he knows a collector named Rothschild,
to which he denies. Preston finally sits and reveals that one of the paintings has a Rothschild
written on the back. Stunned, Stahl laughs his discomfort but soon stops when Preston says
“Heil Hitler,” and Stahl’s children stand tall and heil Hitler. After discovering that,
the Americans take Stahl with them. Meanwhile, Jean Claude and Garfield get lost
in the countryside, where they make the mistake of stopping their vehicle to pet a beautiful horse.
Garfield discovers a group of German soldiers hiding in the bushes. The soldiers do not fire
at them right away and give them the time to escape. However, the other soldiers hiding in
the other bushes fire at Jean Claude, hitting him. Garfield immediately drives away as Jean
Claude bleeds uncontrollably. Garfield attempts to get help, but everyone refuses to assist,
so Jean Claude bleeds to his death. The following day, the remaining Monuments Men,
except for James, discover that they could not find the stolen artworks in Siegen and Merkers
because they were hidden in mines. Sam shares that each German town has a mine.
So, the men go the Siegen’s mine, where they find thousands of pieces of statues,
paintings, and other physical forms of art. Because of that, Stokes writes a letter to James
informing him about the discovery and deaths of two Monuments men. He adds that they will
need him back in Germany to help them find the other stolen arts, especially now that they must
compete with the Soviet Union, which has units of its own seizing the artworks as compensation.
James prepares to leave when he runs into Claire in a restaurant. Claire shares that the Monuments
Men is in the newspaper, and after learning that they returned the stolen artworks from Stahl,
Claire finally agrees to help James. She invites him to a formal dinner at her apartment.
Later that night, James arrives wearing a semi-formal attire while Claire wears an
elegant black dress. James apologizes as it is the formal attire he has, but Claire takes a tie
on her room and lets James wear it. She says that when one is invited to a formal party,
one must dress accordingly in French culture. At dinner, Claire gives James all the information
she knows and has about various stolen arts, known artists, and art thieves. She even hands over her
book record containing comprehensive information about the stolen arts and the rightful owners.
She kept a colored mark on some for every piece to match her ledger. Claire tells James that he
should find most of the arts in a castle in Neuschwanstein, After giving him everything,
Claire attempts to make James stay, but he kindly refuses the invitation and leaves.
James arrives at Merker’s mine the following day, where he finds the Monuments men busy
with the thousands of arts they discovered. The men welcome James, and he returns it but then
searches for Stokes. He finds him at the back working on some artworks,
and they talk about finding the Madonna and child statue not just for the U.S Army but for Donald.
Meanwhile, Campbell and Sam find a room filled with tons of gold reserved for the Nazi German
national treasury. Because of this, the German regime goes bankrupt, causing them to forfeit
the war. At that same time, a higher German officer walks away from the Heilbronn mine
as two men put hundreds of artwork on fire. The following day, the Monuments arrive at the
said mine to discover that everything was burned to ashes. Also, James accidentally steps into
a land mine, so the men improvise something to remove him from it. James says that they can leave
him if the alternative does not work, but they refuse to go and stay with him. James encourages
himself before stepping off the land mine, causing a small explosion that does not hurt them.
Despite the mine’s state, the men still stay, hopeful of finding anything saveable, and they do.
They discover barrels full of gold teeth from the victims of the death camps. After that,
the men travel to Neuschwanstein, where they find a castle full of art statues and some paintings.
As the men wander around, they discover that the Ghent altarpiece is in the Altaussee mine.
And so, the men immediately leave and drive to Altaussee, Austria, to find that the is
destroyed. The person in charge informs them that the locals bombed the mine to deceive the Nazis.
He adds that there is also a German soldier named Wagner who was found hiding in town.
Stokes instructs the men to find the locals and get a mine’s diagram while he talks to Wagner.
Stokes confronts Wagner, who turns out to be the higher officer burning the artworks.
Stokes asks if he and his men took out the pieces of art in the mine. Wagner refuses to disclose or
give any information as he will be released and sent home according to the Geneva Conventions.
After that, the soldier informs the men that they need to start finding another entrance as
they have an order to leave to pull out that night as the Soviets will occupy the zone.
So, the men use an explosive enough to make an entrance.
The Russians hear the explosion from afar, so they advance towards it.
So, the men immediately get to work and evacuate as much artwork as possible,
including Michaelangelo’s Madonna sculpture and Ghent’s altarpiece. The men help Stokes push
the cart that carries the statue, and they leave Altaussee just in time before the Russians arrive.
After their journey in Germany, the men return to the U.S, and Stokes reports to the President that
the Monuments Men retrieved a total of five million artworks, and all of these are being
returned to their rightful owners. Despite that, Stokes asks for permission to stay in Europe to
recover more missing artworks. Instead of giving an answer, the President questions Stokes if the
arts were worth the lives of Donald and Jean Claude. Stokes firmly replies that they were.
The film ends with the now retired and older Stokes in a museum with his grandson
along with a large crowd. Stokes walks to Michaelangelo’s Madonna and child sculpture,
proudness evident on his face as he remembers his men who sacrificed
their lives to preserve the world’s most extensive and most remarkable works of art.