A Midnight Clear

A Midnight Clear Keith Gordon, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross  Midnight Clear VHS  Midnight Clear

TV Guide Review: Like all the best war movies, A MIDNIGHT CLEAR looks at its subject on a human scale, bringing home the tragedy of armed conflict by showing its effects on a small group of individuals. Made with intelligence and wit, the film combines moments of lyrical beauty with a bitterly ironic sense of the absurdity of war. Adapted from William Wharton's autobiographical novel by actor-turned-director Keith Gordon (THE CHOCOLATE WAR), A MIDNIGHT CLEAR follows the misadventures of an infantry intelligence patrol somewhere in the Ardennes forest in 1944. Selected for reconnaissance work because of their high I.Q. ratings ("I guess if we're intelligent, we must be good at intelligence"), the group includes Will Knott (Ethan Hawke), a newly promoted sergeant who just can't get around to sewing on his stripes; "Mother" Wilkins (Gary Sinise), named for his attempts to enforce neatness among the squad members; "Father" Mundy (Frank Whaley), a former seminarian; and Mel Avakian (Kevin Dillon), the group's most--perhaps only--competent soldier. Shortly before Christmas, the group is sent by their sadistic commanding officer to commandeer an abandoned house and use it as a lookout to report on enemy troop movements. They do encounter some Germans, but of the kind that shatter their preconceptions about the "enemy." These Germans shout goodnight messages to their American counterparts, attack them with snowballs rather than bullets, and end up exchanging gifts with them around a makeshift Christmas tree. When these peaceful overtures end in bloodshed the effect is doubly moving, since we have come to know those on both sides as real people.

Though it hits an occasional false note, A MIDNIGHT CLEAR is well written and sensitively directed. The pristine, snowbound setting gives the film a still, other-worldly quality, and makes for some arresting images, particularly that of a German and an American corpse frozen in a posthumous embrace.

A Midnight Clear 
William Wharton

A Midnight Clear

Set in the Ardennes Forest on Christmas Eve 1944, Sergeant Will Knott and five other GIs are ordered close to the German lines to establish an observation post in an abandoned chateau. Here they play at being soldiers in what seems to be complete isolation. That is until the Germans begin revealing their whereabouts and leaving signs of their presence: a scarecrow, equipment the squad had dropped on a retreat from a reconnaissance mission and, strangest of all, a small fir tree hung with fruit, candles, and cardboard stars. Suddenly, Knott and the others must unravel these mysteries, learning as they do about themselves, about one another, and about the "enemy", until A Midnight Clear reaches its unexpected climax, one of the most shattering in the literature of war.

USING THE MOVIE

• The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive on the Western Front. Under Hitler's direct orders the German Army transferred men and materiel from the Eastern Front, permitting the Russians to gain ground at the rate of 100 miles per day. The plan was to break through the Allied lines and push to the sea at Antwerp and Lieges. The attack began on December 16, 1944. The Germans broke through in the Ardennes Forest making a huge bulge in the Allied lines. The allies were not able to turn the Germans back until January 16, 1945. The Battle of the Bulge cost 77,000 Allied casualties and 220,000 German casualties.

1. [Standard Questions Suitable for Any Film].
2. Why did the Germans insist upon staging a battle scene at their bivouac?
3. Why was the Jewish member of the American unit able to communicate with the Germans?
4. Why was it ironic that the German unit had to negotiate the terms of its surrender with the only Jewish member of the American unit? [See Learning Guide to "Cyrano de Bergerac" for a discussion of irony.]
5. What went wrong in the efforts to arrange this surrender? What were the mistakes and by whom were they made?
6. What were the signals sent by the German unit that it wanted to be friends?
7. Did the attitude of the American soldiers toward their officers cause them to become insubordinate? How do you reconcile the independence of mind of Americans with the obedience required of soldiers in the military?
8. What is the "law of unintended consequences" and how did it operate in this film?
   
   
   Character Development
   Courage in War
9. [Quick Discussion Question:] The American soldiers were afraid much of the time. Were they cowards?
10. Why was the American unit afraid of the German unit?
    
    Peacemakers
11. Did the young soldiers do the right thing by putting themselves at risk to cooperate with the Germans to arrange the surrender of the German unit?
    
    Coming of Age
12. The American soldiers were boys at the beginning of the film and they were men by the end. What event in the film matured them? Was it (a) going into the army; (b) their sexual experience with the young widow; (c) experiencing combat; or (d) the failed attempt to arrange the surrender of the German unit?
    
    
    Ethical Emphasis
    (Teachwithmovies.org is associated with Character Counts and uses The Six Pillars of Character to organize ethical principals.)
    
    Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues are designed to maximize the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. One concept from The Six Pillars of Character that is raised in this film is Caring (Be kind; Be compassionate and show you care; Express gratitude; Forgive others; Help people in need).
13. Does the fact that the German unit was wiped out but the Americans lost only two men make the losses in this film less painful? Should it?
    
    [See Questions in the Peacemakers section above.]