Off-Putting

I was a man long before I lost my virginity. Do you think virgins who get killed in war aren't men when they die? Do you think virgins who get their weenies shot off can never be men? Ridiculous.

There's no way to be accurate and polite at the same time; it was definitely a gang-bang, and the girl was basically a slut!

"This wasn't marketed as an arthouse movie, so I'm inclined to think others missed the metaphorical meaning, too."

hahaha, that's hilarious

so because it isn't MARKETED as an "art-house movie" (whatever that exactly means) you experience this scene differently????

I haven't seen this movie in years, but have been thinking about it quite a lot since the holiday season began. I would love to catch it again on TV.

I was not offended or bothered in the least by any of these scenes. The de-flowering scene? Of the 3 mentioned scenes it's probably the least necessary, but I wouldn't say it's distasteful or anything. It's just not overly central to the storyline, although I do understand it's meaning, and have no problem with it.

However, the scenes where they bleed 'Father' and wash him are important; they are very symbolic and show the human side of war, among other things.

The bleeding of him was a necessary act. If you recall, they realised that unless they somehow made it appear that they were with the Red Cross, they would quite obviously be cut down by snipers or bombers even from their own troops. They had no other way to create a Red Cross emblem, so they realised that their only means of getting Father back to the camp to send him home, was to actually bleed him, and use his own blood as "paint", which they carefully applied, with their own bare fingers, to the cloth they wrapped him in. It was effective and necessary. They didn't enjoy doing it, but it had to be done.

The washing of the dead soldiers body was done out of respect for him; he was a close friend and mentor, who was near to going home. He was going to become a priest when he returned home (if memory serves). Because he was a very righteous person, and because a "mission"(for lack of a better word) went wrong and he was inadvertently killed in it, the other men fele that the very least they could do was not leave him behind or bury him in German soil, but to take him back so that his body could be returned home and buried in the soil of the land he loved; also so that his family could have closure. They felt that they could not take him back so dirty (as someone else mentioned, a large luxury for these men would have been a hot bath)--it was to give him human dignity.

I found both scenes very touching and profound, and believe that of all the atrocities that took place over there, these acts (whether real or Hollywood created) were not among them.

But, people are all different. I personally can't stomach movies like Saw or Hostel, but my husband enjoys them thoroughly, so I'd say it's purely a case of 'each to his own'.

Cheers!

There were a lot of things going on and I would not be at all surprised, if this scenario was based on some personal experience.

#1: Janice was planning on committing suicide out of grief when they found her. Figure out her state of mind at this point. She was clearly depressed and distraught. People do strange things when they're like that.

#2: The guys were in-effect, 5 copies of her dead husband, also a GI. Although they weren't her husband, it's not much of a stretch to equate them all with him. She had sex with all of them but they did so in the dark and apparently quite discreetly for such a small room. You get the impression that it was somewhat impersonal, despite the intimacy. She may have been deeply fantasizing that she was with her husband again, and again, and again...

Sex was actually a big part of the War Effort. An essay I once read from the mid-War years was quite concerned with the morality of the youth during Wartime. There were a great number of one-night stands and brief flings, often with the obvious consequences. Girls, Women of all ages were getting it on with Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen at an astounding rate. Promiscuous? Sure. But at the same time, the War years were very bleak and I get the impression that people did what they could for comfort and fun. A lot of civilians were working in Defense factories on very long shifts at breakneck speed. So, anything to help take the edge off I'd reckon. You could realistically say that sex was one of the few things that wasn't rationed and man, with all those blackouts and curfews! They didn't have TV to vege in front of yet.

All those scenes are in the book on which the film is based, and they happen pretty much exactly as depicted in the film. So if they're 'bull', as claimed above by james4003, the fault isn't Hollywood's. I don't find them at all off-putting, and would highly recommend that fans of the film seek out the book. It's even better.