Saccharine perhaps isn't the perfect descriptor, maybe neatly packaged manipulative storytelling, or edulcorated.
But the idea is you take a monstruous event, and package it with editing, music, etc, to have it be very easily digestible by a mass market audience.
Have it be entertainment, essentially.
I don't have the artistic and moral fiber of Haneke crearly (nor his complete lack of sense of humor
), despite thinking he's one of the best (still working) directors, but i'm having a hard time refuting his point.
I think Spielberg should've stuck with fun adventure movies, but then you can argue this level of rigor could be applied to any and all human tragedies throughout history, regardless of how fresh in our memory, though i wouldn't feel as bad out of an entertaining romp of the Sack of Rome, or whatever.
Regardless, saying you can't use that film in a comparison, because it's "a holocaust movie" doesn't mean much, because it itself uses the events as a way to
entertain, and handhold its audience.
EDIT was answering VomKriege, obv.
EDIT 2: I should also add that i do find most mainstream "war" movies to be fundamentally childish in nature (think Saving private Ryan, 1917, Lebanon or similar stuff) but it's not to say i can't enjoy them on any level beyond that.
