Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 201: How to keep your Coolies

As I move onto the last ten or so films of this decade I can't help but notice how many war films I have left to watch. In fact I'm surprised by the number of war epics and westerns in these ceremonies, but I suppose these were simpler times before the notion of the 'Oscar film' was ever created. Anyway, the next war film on my list, The Sand Pebbles, stars everybody's favourite action hero Steve McQueen as naval machinist Jake Holman. The film follows Holman as he becomes a member of the crew of gunboat 'The San Paolo', nicknamed the 'Sand Pebble' by the men who serve on it. When Holman arrives he discovers that the crew do very little and instead leave all of the work to the Chinese labourers known as Coolies. Holman isn't a fan of the current situation and wants to work in the engine room, but the majority of the crew see him as a threat to their cushy lifestyle and refuse to help him out. Holman's only friend aboard the ship is the sensitive Frenchy who strikes up a relationship with educated local girl Maily, after he stopped her from being bought by another crew member. However, Maily and Frenchy's relationship is stalled when the rebellious natives refuse to let the San Paolo leave until they free all of their Chinese coolies. This stalemate eventually results in a gun battle between the two which leaves many of the San Paolo crew members dead. Meanwhile Holman and Captain Collins lead a team whose mission it is to rescue two American teachers who are stranded in the country. But it seems that this mission may be their last as the Chinese begin to close in on them.

I have to say that, during this Oscar challenge, the films that feature prolonged battle segments are the ones that probably interest me the least. Thankfully, when The Sand Pebbles wasn't full of macho posturing, there were some things to like. Steve McQueen gives a balanced performance as Holman, a man who is always trying to do the right thing but always seems to get people killed in the process. In fact I quite agreed with the crew of the San Paolo as life was a lot easier before he came along. But his presence at least brings up some interesting themes about the exploitation of immigrant workers and racial tensions between the two. Richard Crenna was also great as the matter-of-fact captain who was just trying to do the best for his crew and I felt his scenes were some of the more compelling. But the film was definitely stolen by Richard Attenborough whose was brilliant as the likeable yet naive Frenchy. Even though I couldn't tell what accent Attenborough was attempting, I found Frenchy's relationship with Maily the most interesting and engaging story in the whole film. At just over three hours, The Sand Pebbles was far too long and I thought that, if it had been trimmed down by at least thirty minutes, it would've been a lot better. I also didn't much care for the central love story betwen Holman and Candice Bergen's teacher Shirley as there was never any chemistry between the two. Interestingly, The Sand Pebbles was nominated for eight Oscars but went home with none, something I'm not surprised about as I found it to be a completely forgettable film, if not one that did have a few standout moments.

Next time more shooting and macho posturing with another all-action war film.