The Theme Of Sacrifice In Saving Private Ryan

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In the film Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, Captain John Miller takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private John Ryan. Private Ryan’s three brothers have been killed in the war and no one knows if Private Ryan is alive or not. Captain Miller takes on the challenge of bringing home Ryan to his Mom so she wouldn’t lose all of her sons in the dreaded war. The story follows the journey and hardships Captain Miller and his men face trying to locate and bring home Private Ryan. Spielberg portrays the theme of sacrifice in the scenes when the group almost splits apart, they find Private Ryan, and Captain Miller dies. The first scene that protrayed the theme of sacrifice was when the group almost splits apart. In this scene, Captain Miller and his men come face to face with the Germans in a battle that has nothing to do with the mission and seems pointless to the crew. The battle is harsh, and even costs the life of a beloved member of the group. In the end of the battle, the group captures a German, however Captain chooses to let him go. Since one of their buddies gave his life and the German gets to walk …show more content…

In the this scene, Captain Miller and his men finally find Private Ryan, but Ryan doesn’t want to leave. Even after Ryan is told what had happened to his brothers, he isn’t willing to leave the bridge and abandon his troops. Captain and his crew came a long way and faced many obstacles trying to find Private Ryan. With holding a vival bridge, Ryan knew that the ultimate mission wasn’t to bring him home, but to win the war. In this scene, the camera focuses on Ryan’s face to make him seem more like a human than a soldier. There is no music during this scene to cause a feeling of uncertainty. The crew can’t believe that with everything they have done, Ryan is choosing to stay. This scene conveys the theme because Ryan chose to risk his own life to help win the

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