Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed with a fate worse than death as a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Unbeknown to his doctors, he remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories.
The film is often sentimental, sometimes brilliant as well as horrifying, and it is intriguing to speculate on what Bunuel, whom Trumbo originally wanted to direct, would have made of it.
– ,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
Instead of belaboring ironic points about the "war to end war," Trumbo remains stubbornly on the human level.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
Although Mr. Trumbo is primarily a screenwriter, screenwriting is only the worst of the film's several failures.