Age Recommendation: Around 10 years old, but younger kids could watch depending on maturity and familiarity with older films
Last Memorial Day weekend, I found myself casting about for a good movie option for a houseful of young men. I settled on introducing them to the 1941 classic war film, Sergeant York. It turned out to be an excellent decision. While my sons’ appreciation was definitely conditioned by the military- and history-nerd moment they are currently in, I firmly believe there are many good reasons to consider this movie a worthy entry into this list.
Here are 5 reasons to introduce your family to a true classic of American cinema: Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper.
1) It serves up a slice of American history.
Set in rural Tennessee, and drawing on details from York’s published memoirs, the film provides a snapshot of ordinary American life just over a hundred years ago. Humble, hard-working, and concerned with the elemental matters of life, this picture stands in sharp relief to the globalized, tech-driven, and social media culture of our own time.
Of course, as a snapshot, it is somewhat idealized; but since it originates from 1941 it also points us to the things that the “Greatest Generation” actually cared for and found important.
2) It presents serious themes tastefully and soberly.
As is perhaps to be expected from films of the first half of the 20th century, this film artfully considers serious human issues, including: duty to God in tension with duty to one’s country, the tragedy of war with its horrors and glories, and what at the core of a man makes him good or bad. Sergeant York engages deeply with these and many other themes without falling on the one hand into the mistake of substituting graphic or gratuitous sensuality as a cheap replacement for actual maturity, or on the other hand into the trap of pretending that “family friendly” cannot handle serious things seriously.
While children today may not find it to be the ‘most entertaining’ movie they have ever seen, it certainly has the substance of a main course compared to the more saccharine ‘desserts’ that comprise some of today’s “family friendly” films. Besides, it is often remarkable what young people are capable of doing or appreciating when appropriately challenged and accompanied.
3) It tells the story of a true American hero.
With all due respect to those who insist on the importance to the healthy development of young minds of fairy tales (including especially G.K. Chesterton), I believe it is at least just as important that they also know stories of true heroism.
And the story of Alvin C. York’s daring exploits during the Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918 are definitely hero-level material. Pinned down by multiple German machine gun nests, York’s individual efforts rescued his unit and were critical in capturing 132 prisoners. He later received numerous decorations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Photo of Sergeant Alvin C. York, 25 May 1919.
While the film certainly portrays York’s wartime exploits, its main focus is on the formation and exercise of those qualities that his heroics revealed. It follows his journey from a wild youth, a “lost sheep,” to a convicted Christian, deeply respectful of and docile to Scripture. This sets up the central conflict of the film: York’s struggle to square his biblically-based commitment to pacifism with the legitimate demands of patriotism during war.
Gary Cooper’s portrayal of York’s genuine faith, serious wrestling with his conscience, surrender to Providence, and sober appraisal of his accomplishments paints a convincing picture of a real-life American hero, one who is well-worth knowing, honoring, and imitating.
4) It tells a healthy love story.
A key piece to York’s portrait in this film is the growth and development of his relationship with Gracie Williams, his eventual wife. As a film from another time, its lack of those degrees of gratuitous sensuality that seem compulsory in modern cinema allow greater room for the fuller human dimensions of these kinds of stories to breathe. Thus, it might be easy to fall into mere cinematic antiquarianism: “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to!”
Simply having the storytelling space, however, does not guarantee good use of that space. York’s interest in Gracie quickly becomes a driving force in the development of his character and opens up the crisis into which God’s grace falls like a thunderbolt. Though at first there are clear red flags about York’s behavior, finally his sinful and childish behaviors are left behind and he becomes a man – the kind of man to whom a good woman would not be foolish to entrust her life.
And, although the war and his exploits take him far away, and glory and fame are thrust upon him, he never loses sight of his goal of setting up a good start to their married life. Such a humble, mature, and manful approach to marriage is something that the world is – literally in some cases – crying out for.
5) It tells a conversion story convincingly.
York’s story famously includes the fact that he was drafted into the Army despite filing for a religious exemption. The film’s layered and nuanced portrayal of York’s wrestling with his conscience is believable because it first explores the formation of his pacifistic convictions through a rather dramatic conversion story.
Gary Cooper’s Oscar-winning multi-dimensional performance of York’s character arc is excellent. At the start of the film he captures York’s rough edges and balances the highs of youthful optimism with the lows of desperation in the face of an almost impossible task. And when York sees the goal he slaved away to accomplish ripped from his grasp at the brink of victory, Cooper’s acting truly shines. His portrayal of the quiet rage that drives a man to the depths of despair and anger is palpable. Then, when an act of God interferes, Cooper demonstrates an outstanding range as he acts out York’s reception of his ‘road to Damascus’ conversion moment.
Buoyed largely by Cooper’s phenomenal performance as well as good writing, Sergeant York accomplishes the remarkable feat of portraying a true moment of grace convincingly.
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Sergeant York is a classic film for these and many other reasons. IMDb rates it within the top 25 war films of all time. If my sons’ reception of this film is any indication, it still has the capacity to speak, across nearly nine decades, to young people of our own time. If you are looking for a good film that celebrates outstanding American heroes, I heartily recommend you check out Sergeant York.
Great recommendation! I’ll have to add it to my watchlist