MASH (1970)

USA
directed by: Robert Altman
written by: Ring Lardner Jr. + Richard Hooker (book)
starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman
comment: 3rd January, 2017

It needs to be said that the subsequent TV series was intensely watched (and worshiped) in my household throughout my entire childhood, so the series will always be a golden standard in my eyes, no matter what the circumstances are. And while I'm saying things that need to be said I better say that I don't think I properly understood the film. I mean, I am perceiving what is going on, and I sense what were the creators' intentions, but I don't get why they chose to approach the subject the way they did and sometimes it's even a bit uncomfortable for me to watch it.

The song "Suicice is painless" sums it up nicely. It's a bit scary without context, it might seem harmless and catchy, but the longer I think about it the more silly and detrimental it seems - mainly because of its lyrics, the interpret's uncaring tone of voice and absence of healthy sarcasm anywhere near it. The song's use during "the last supper" somehow betters its reputation in my eyes, beucase it gets the much needed, even though unspoken, commentary from film's creators.

So yes, some parts of the film can be entrancing, but the whole thing does not work for me. My favourite anti-war satires look differently. Right in the year 1970 sprouts one of my favourites, Catch-XXII, and it beats MASH by a lot. I can understand their work with absurdity of war with my mind and with my heart and both are happy. I miss Altman's points completely. He's humiliating Hot Lips to reveal her hidden fragility, what?!