Movie Review

"VALKYRIE”- A CASE STUDY OF A FAILED COUP

By Al P. Garcia

Tom Cruise did it again. Acting an off-beat role of a historical character, an aristocratic Catholic German officer-Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg who tried to assassinate Hitler during World War II, Cruise did more than his best to do justice to the man and his role.

Definitely “Valkyrie” is better than “The Last Samurai” because it is not only historically true and accurate but it really dramatize the facts.

The film "Valkyrie” named after a daring military plan- the July 20, 1944 coup to topple the Nazi party in Germany is a good lesson in not do an unsuccessful coup.

The human conflict is centered in the struggles between the coup plotters. It magnified the failure of the coup in the indecisiveness of some of the coup plotters.

The film showed that time is of importance. The costly delay of more than three hours caused then coup plotters their lives. General Fredrick Olbricht who dilly-dallied and wasted three hours waiting for confirmation on Hitler’s death.

Another thing is that the coup leaders have no real base in the military and relied on deception. Stating the truth that in capitalist countries coups are decided by political leaders not the military leaders.



Philippine Style Coups

The Philippine case is different. In the December 1989,the coup was decided by timely American Intervention sought by Philippine authorities.

The coup plotters led by Col. Gringo Honasan have mobilized almost all of the 10 divisions of the armed forces, controlled the air force and the police were on the verge of victory, But when the US Air Force intervened, the coup plot fizzled after two days of mostly acoustic fighting.

But the Filipino coup plotters lived to fight for another three years until they were pardoned by an amnesty. Many of them returned to the military to later become generals,senators and government officials unlike in the movie where the responsible leaders were shot or hanged.

One lesson- not all military men are fascist

The film was able to show that men of principles like what Col Von Stauffenbeg and General Erich Fellgiebel can take high personal risk and exchange their careers for a higher cause of peace or truce with their Allied enemies.

This can also be said to the more than 50 AFP officers still languishing in PGMA jails because they opted for change and tried to change it be a failed coup. The lesson of Valkykrie in Germany when you try to talked it out you can be outtalked and later fail and land in jail just what happened in 2006 in Manila.

Again, the film failed to show the fortitude of women except the small portion about the wife of Col. Stauffenberg and the colonel’s secretary. A clear insult to German women and all women in general.

Valkyrie can pass as a suspense thriller even if the people know in the first what is the result. It is always nice to know how men of principles act and improvise in their greatest moment of decision or indecision. It showed not all Germans were fascist although not they are not anti-fascist, they are anti-nazis.

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