Cry Havoc (1999)

Lost among the violent tides of World War II and the cold, barren landscapes of an Italian winter, an American Sniper struggles to keep his soul intact. Endlessly he murders German soldiers from afar and this begins to breakdown the unsteady walls of his sanity. A new victim is placed before him. Yet instead of killing this particular German soldier, who is guarding a nameless road somewhere in Italy, he endeavors to watch the unsuspecting soldier through the scope on his rifle. This action brings about an epiphany which slowly begins to heal the Sniper's damaged soul. The realization that the enemy is human. Volker is the German soldier that the Sniper watches from a far. Volker's antics, displayed vividly and uninhibitedly by the certainty of his solitude, convey a message to the Sniper among the trees. The German soldier's childish behavior, innocence and constant acknowledgment of the cold weather amuse the Sniper, even provoking him to laughter at moments, something the Sniper has not known for quite some time. And then it dawns upon him. Volker is in fact, retarded. This realization influences the Sniper to begin a relationship with the German soldier. He slowly lets the German know of his presence until finally he decides to actually approach him and befriend the simpleton. The precarious nature of such an action takes the Sniper up the road to redemption only to lead him into the dark confines of an unstable and potentially fatal situation.