Yanks (1979)

What a fantastic film. Just watched it today for the first time and am still thinking about it! It captivated me right from the start. It was nice to watch a film from that era which concentrated on the characters lives instead of the war. The chemistry between William Devane and Vanessa Redgrave was wonderful to watch. He is such a watchable actor in everything he does. Richard Gere was as always very charming and played the role with ease. His "love interest" Jean was also very charming and mastered the English accent very well for an American. Her family life gave us an insight into what was expected of young women back then. The locations were beautifully shot and transported me back in time. I could not fault anything about this film and can't wait to watch it again.

I saw this film in a theater upon its' release and found it to be enjoyable but I didn't like Richard Gere at the time. Much later, I saw him in 'Chicago' and realized that he was a true talent.When I watched the film on TV recently I was absorbed with Lisa Eichhorn (yes, 2 h's). I actually thought she was the most innocent looking and pretty girl on earth at the time the movie was filmed (she's still cute). I liken her to Cathy O'Donnell in 'The Best Years of Our Lives,' a post-WWII film and in my top ten of all time favorite movies. I learned that Lisa faked a British accent so well that she was signed for the role of Jean. Actually, Lisa was born and raised in New York State. When the producers found out she was American, they still put her in the role.

This is a good movie with a great ending. Parts of the story are a bit contrived, but in general the story brings out the dramatic aspects of the interactions between the American soldiers and the local British population during World War Two. Relationships are bound to develop. The question is: do the people involved in these relationships really care about each other or are they using each other to satisfy their own needs? The subplot involving the William Devane and Vanessa Redgrave characters works well. Here both characters understand the nature of their involvement and so there won't be surprises when it ends; the other main subplot involving the Richard Gere and Lisa Eichhorn characters is less believable, but nevertheless is still watchable. That American soldiers got involved with British women is a fact. How both groups dealt with the emotional impact of the these relationships is what this movie is about and in this respect the movie does a credible job.

Yanks is a "slice of life" movie. I mention this partly as a warning, partly because some people have never heard of this genre. For people looking for action, drama, excitement, look elsewhere. But if you are looking for great, naturalistic acting, Yanks excels. The focus of a slice of life movie is usually the everyday events of people's lives, presented as naturally as possible. And so the acting needs to be as lifelike as possible. In some examples of this genre, such as Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, there is virtually no plot, but great acting. Others, such as Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, show us a side of life, such as the heartwarming events of childhood on a farm. In Yanks, we see the lives of three couples unfold during a lull in the action of World War II, at least for them. Before seeing the film, when I read the capsule description, I had a sense of dread that I was in for some romantic sturm und drang manipulation, and was prepared to turn it off if that were the case. Instead, I saw American men behaving as gentlemen with British women of good morals, though less than perfect due to the abnormal situation of the war. Their good intentions gradual succumb to the unfolding of genuine affection. And then it is time for the men to go to war.Are we yawning yet? This movie is not for everyone, especially for the younger generation weaned on action flicks. However, I suspect it would make a good chick flick, as it has soap opera elements.As I watched Yanks, I couldn't help thinking of Memphis Belle, the story of a bomber crew deployed over Germany during the war. The movie shows the crew being selected for a documentary, and follows them through run after run. What many viewers don't know is that there was a real Memphis Belle that was the subject of a live documentary by the great director Frank Capra. Of course, Capra didn't know how the story would end, whether the crew would live or die. Real life can be pretty dramatic. The problem with the movie Memphis Belle is that the acting was pretty hammy, even though the events and the dialog were generally true to life. So it dropped the ball as a slice of life movie. In Yanks, the acting is exceptional and very natural. William Devane delivered his best performance I've seen. If you watch enough movies, eventually you may forget what really great, natural acting looks like. Yanks is a reminder. But it is short on drama. There is some conflict between the British and Americans, mainly in the form of British resentment due to a variety of reasons. But the movie avoids generalizing or moralizing about who is right or wrong. It could have played up the pat idea that the British were sometimes jealous of the Americans, and yet the young ladies were all too interested in using the GIs to go to America -- but that was not the message. Instead, the movie is about individual romances, attractions not because they were American or British but because they simply liked each other. I can imagine that this is how it really was like during the war for many people. And you don't see the loose sexual morals of today transposed onto the 1940s, and instead see some real restraint, which I suspect was also realistic. So why should you watch this movie? What is interesting is seeing the clash of the two cultures, the British and Americans, played out in the individual relationships, and seeing those relationships unfold. This is primarily a British movie, with a British director, producer, writer, composer, cinematographer, etc., filmed in a British studio by a German production company, CIP Filmproduktion GmbH, with a mostly British cast, and first released in Britain. Yet a French professor posting here dismisses Yanks as a bit of pathetic American propaganda to "erase the humiliation of 1975" when the Vietnam War ended -- a war caused by the French to keep their pre-WWII colony! Why is it so many foreigners assume that movies about America are made at the direction of some secret U.S. government ministry of patriotic propaganda? And that everything in America is one vast nationalistic conspiracy? Is that how it works in France?EXCEPT, YANKS IS NOT AN American MOVIE, DR. IDIOT! The opinions expressed by the British are hardly pro-American. And there are no scenes of battle glory of the Americans (and British) saving Vichy France from Nazi occupation during the invasion of Normandy on D Day, the reason the Yanks were in Britain. Talk about erasing the humiliation of 1945!The weak link in Yanks is the script. While we see the couples behaving romantically, we don't hear much discussion about America versus Britain, and how they would feel about living in one or the other country. Yet they consider marriage without much serious talk. I suppose this can happen with young people, but given the subject of the movie, there should have been more meat to these conversations. I notice this a lot in otherwise good romances these days: they behave romantically, and voilà, they are in love, yet there is no appropriate dialog. Cold Mountain is a good example.You can watch dozens of documentaries about World War II to learn about history, but it helps to supplement them with movies such as Yanks (or Mrs. Miniver) that give you a real feel for daily life during that time. Yanks was made more than 30 years ago, but doesn't feel dated, and I suspect it will be just as interesting to viewers, if not more so, 30 years from now.