What it’s about
During the Normandy invasion of World War II, Captain John Miller is assigned the task of searching for Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have already been killed in the war.
Why you should watch it
This film is based on the sole survivor directive that the US implemented to stop a family from losing all of its children to war. Derived from a true story, it brilliantly asks the question is it right to risk the lives of other soldiers to save one soldier, simply because that one soldier has lost all his siblings.
But what makes this film really standout is the way it shows the nature of war, and then uses this war zone to ask whether in a world of equals one life ever becomes worth more than that of another. And that is the question that is at the heart of this film. When does one life become worth more than that of another.
A standout feature of this film is that it doesn’t try to tell you the answer to the question, it simply asks the question and in doing so makes clear just how not black-and-white the answer really is. For that reason it is most definitely worth watching.
Runtime: 170 minutes
The Knowledge of Freedom 