Field of Lost Shoes (2015)

This movie gave an interesting perspective to the civil war, allowing the viewer to see it from a cadets view. Each cadet had a different reason to be fighting, not all pro slavery even though they were on the confederate side. They fought for something that they personally believed in, they were fighting for what was right. Views on slavery were changing, especially during the civil war (Lincoln's presidency). I think that the cadets were beginning to see that people are people and on some level are similar. The movie allowed for you to almost experience the war with them and show the journey and ideals relevant to the time. Overall it was a good movie containing key elements of the civil war.

You would expect the typical Civil War movie to be centered around Union soldiers, or what history makes one believe are the "good guys". This movie focuses on Confederate cadets, southern military school boys who have to enter combat when situations are dire.The story humanizes Confederate soldiers and provides an awareness that Confederate soldiers may have had motives with just as good of intentions as Union soldiers.

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.

RELEASED IN 2015 and directed by Sean McNamara, "Field of Lost Shoes" (aka "Battlefield of Lost Souls") chronicles the Civil War Battle of New Market wherein the Confederates were forced to enlist the aid of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) to stave off Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley. While the story properly focuses on the young'uns, notable actors like Jason Isaacs, David Arquette, Keith David, Lauren Holly and Tom Skerritt are also on hand. This particular occasion in history is pretty famous and I even remember reading about it in war comics when I was a kid, so it's interesting to finally see a cinematic depiction of it. The no-name youths are up to the challenge and, thankfully, they throw in some females to keep things interesting (e.g. Mary Mouser). Practically all the main characters are based on real-life people, including David as "Old Judge," who continued working for the VMI after attaining his freedom. Speaking of the VMI, the institute is still in use today and the movie was partially shot there.One of the worst things about slavery is that it broke up families when a buyer would purchase one member of a family, but not the others. This is powerfully depicted in the opening."Field of Lost Shoes" is mostly a drama about the preparations for war during the Civil War, but when the action comes at almost the hour mark it's pretty effective and thrilling. The biggest downside of Civil War combat was that officers on both sides used outdated military tactics, which they learned from West Point & other academies. These tactics hailed from the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s. Yet technological advances produced rifles with superior aim, which resulted in ridiculously long casualty lists. Soldiers had no recourse but to stoically march in formation right into friggin rifle and canon fire. Sure, I'd be willing to do this, but only if the Presidents, politicians, generals and colonels marched ahead of me. You get my drift.So the movie's well done, as far as cast, costumes, locations and battle scenes go (despite a couple of clichés, like one guy utterly stopping to blow precious time emoting over a wounded comrade. Why Sure!). The CGI is less effective, but it gets the job done. The story, however, needed some kinks worked out to make it more compelling in the manner of the great "Glory" (1989). Still, I'd watch "Field of Lost Shoes" any day above the relatively dull, sappy and laboriously overlong "Gettysburg" (1993). To offer balance, I love the prequel "Gods and Generals" (2003). THE FILM RUNS 95 minutes and was shot entirely in Virginia (Lexington, Charles City, Powhatan & Richmond). WRITERS: Thomas Farrell & David M. Kennedy. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)