82/100: Miscommunication in Saving Private Ryan
Playing a game of telephone in WWII
I’m not sure what to make of it yet, but there are several instances of miscommunications, mistranslations, and misunderstandings in the film. Perhaps Spielberg simply wanted to show the reality of war. It’s not just about bodies and bullets going at it. It’s about communication and the chaos that ensues when they aren’t relayed. Perhaps the moments of miscommunication are connected to a broader theme. Like I said. I’m not sure. Anyway, here are the instances of miscommunication that I caught for future reference.
Shellshocked & Deaf
As the Allies storm the beach, an artillery share detonates next to Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), temporarily deafening him.
Dead radioman. Dead radio.
Captain Miller tries to communicate that Dog Beach is not prepared for landing. He seeks the radio man and discovers he’s been shot. As if to drive the point of miscommunication home, the radioman is shot in the face, of the most communicative, expressive parts of the human body. Captail Miller then grabs the radio himself but discovers that’s shot as well.
Surrendering Chechens
After the Allies break through Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, two Chechen soldiers try to surrender. Raising their hands and speaking Chechen, they tell the Americans, “Please don’t shoot me! I’m not German, I’m Czech, I didn’t kill anyone!”
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The American soldiers shoot them anyway and jokingly translate their words to, “Look, I washed for supper!”
Choosing Upham
Captain Miller chooses Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies) to bridge the communication gaps as a translator.
Shooting the messenger
As Captain Miller and his men begin their search for Private Ryan (Matt Damon), they come to a French village. One of the officers (Paul Giamatti) dispatches a messenger to communicate with other Allied troops. Before he gets 25 yards out, he’s shot by German troops.
The Allied trooper falls over, but the Germans keep shooting his body. The Americans are livid that their friend is still being riddled with bullets. Captain Miller (if I remember correctly) comments that as long as the American troop has breath in his lungs, he can still communicate his message.
My Brothers are still in grade shool
Captain Miller and his men enter another village and find a Private Ryan (Nathan Fillion this time). They tell him that his brothers have been killed. As they try to comfort a bereaved Ryan, Ryan asks how it’s possible that his brothers are dead because they’re in grade school. Miller got the wrong Private Ryan.
Private Michelson
As the search continues, the men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion encounter Private Michelson who lost his hearing when a potato masher detonates next to him.
Destroyed Radio Tower
Captain Miller and his men attack a German position—dug in in the ruins of a destroyed radio tower. This is also where the medic, Wade dies. This seems significant because Wade’s story about ignoring his mom helped the men bond in the church. In other words, he helped them communicate better, dies at a destroyed radio tower, and then his comrades get in an argument so intense that Horvath (Tom Sizemore) pulls a gun on one of his own colleagues. The radio tower is obviously broken down and their interpersonal communication breaks down, too.
