More often than not, war films glorify soldiers who do brave things in the face of certain death, and rightfully so. But rarely do we see even an hour devoted to those who have suffered at the hands of mental anguish and absolute fear in the face of combat. Occasionally, something will slip through the status quo, like Spielberg's own Saving Private Ryan for instance, but far too often audiences never really get deep down into the dirt with a soldier traumatized by his surroundings.
In "Carentan," the third Band of Brothers episode, we meet Private Albert Blithe, who struggles with shellshock during a particularly intense battle. The scene is shot in a very effective way. The camera tends to shake alongside gunfire and explosions; we want Blithe to pick up his gun and be a hero, but at the same time, we want to send him home so that he will be out of harm's way. Blithe's progression in "Carentan" is a fine example of proper character-oriented storytelling. In "Carentan," however, the Battle of Carentan is so expertly depicted, that it's nearly impossible not to sympathize - or at least understand - the trauma that Blithe is going through.
While the ending of this episode is factually inaccurate, the point it tries to portray should not be overlooked. Apart from Blithe's storyline, we also receive some minor progressions of major characters scattered throughout the episode's running time, including the rumors surrounding Lieutenant Speirs; this sidelining story has been dragged out to a somewhat questionable level yet still manages to be highly engaging.
"Carentan" is a slow but steady episode that benefits tremendously from Marc Warren's performance as Blithe. There are certainly better single-character episodes to be found within Band of Brothers, but this is one fine installment that shouldn't be overlooked.
In "Carentan," the third Band of Brothers episode, we meet Private Albert Blithe, who struggles with shellshock during a particularly intense battle. The scene is shot in a very effective way. The camera tends to shake alongside gunfire and explosions; we want Blithe to pick up his gun and be a hero, but at the same time, we want to send him home so that he will be out of harm's way. Blithe's progression in "Carentan" is a fine example of proper character-oriented storytelling. In "Carentan," however, the Battle of Carentan is so expertly depicted, that it's nearly impossible not to sympathize - or at least understand - the trauma that Blithe is going through.
While the ending of this episode is factually inaccurate, the point it tries to portray should not be overlooked. Apart from Blithe's storyline, we also receive some minor progressions of major characters scattered throughout the episode's running time, including the rumors surrounding Lieutenant Speirs; this sidelining story has been dragged out to a somewhat questionable level yet still manages to be highly engaging.
"Carentan" is a slow but steady episode that benefits tremendously from Marc Warren's performance as Blithe. There are certainly better single-character episodes to be found within Band of Brothers, but this is one fine installment that shouldn't be overlooked.
