- Description
The Monuments Men are no boring patrons, but a unique military unit that put their own necks on the line to wrest the jewels they stole from the hands of the Nazis during World War II. The stellar line-up of artistic rescuers is led by George Clooney in an exceptional four-man cast of producer-director-writer-actor, and rounded out by the likes of Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett. The film is set at a time when it was more or less clear that Hitler's Germany would be defeated and the damage of the war was slowly beginning to be repaired. Art lovers were particularly concerned about the unclear fate of thousands of works of art that the Nazis had stolen and hidden for Hitler and other leaders in unknown locations.
At their instigation, a team was formed to follow in the footsteps of the Allied troops and search for traces of these precious artefacts. It seemed like an impossible task: The art treasures were behind enemy lines, and the German army was ready to carry out Hitler's order that all artworks were to be destroyed with the fall of the Nazi Reich. How could these few men hope to succeed? After all, with their original professions as museum directors, curators and art historians, they understood more about Michelangelo than they did about handling weapons. Under fire from the German army, in booby-trapped hideouts and bombed-out cities, the Monuments Men risked their lives to protect the greatest treasures of mankind...