On the brink of World War II a patriotic boy is ready to die for his Poland. Blitzed the Nazi tyranny conscripts him into the German army, the struggle becomes a quest for survival.

As much as we must strive to make perfect loglines . The bottom line is connecting with the industry until someone sees its potential. And it's no secret that is the biggest hurdle for any unproduced writer.
http://whatculture.com/film/anatomy-of-a-masterpiece-roman-polanskis-the-pianist.php

The log line for "The Pianist" is: A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.

Yes, the industry prefers strong characters who can take charge of their fate and so the audience is served extensively. I developed my story from the view of the ordinary guy, his knowledge and culture of that time, and not to forget his Catholicism. Over and over I hear in the industry "give us the same, but different." But when a writer delivers as such, the risks are too high, the story does bad in in a computer analysis.

Platoon, Apocalypse Now, The Tin Drum, Slaughterhouse Five, The Deer Hunter, The Pianist to name a few had an enormous impact showing war differently.

I personally think the audience goes to a war movie to "feel" what it was like in those days. Experience the brutality, misery, death, as the iconic Saving Private Ryan does so well in the D-Day attack. That "feel" is even more strong with a common protagonist we can identify with because he represents the majority of us. Although we admire the hero, we also know we could never be like him, we can just look up to him. That creates a different experience of the war "feel." The audience understands historical conflicts are not myths. My next project is set in the future. With superheroes.

Thanks for contributing fellow writers. I redefined the protagonist's goal as "freedom." To be continued.

I can't speak for war films in other countries, but I think the Vietnam War terminated with extreme prejudice, romantic, sanitized depictions of war in US films.

A trenchant observation, nicholasandrewswhalls: survival is the primary stakes in war movies. And I would agree with your points as they apply to most stories.

BUT, as Fred Wohlert said, the story is about a protagonist who has no choice as to his objective goal. He's forced to fight and the only thing goal he can have is to survive.That is a tough sell as a movie concept no matter how polished the log line. Because people prefer movie myths about characters who can take charge of their fate, who are not impotent, expendable pawns pushed along in other people's chess games.

An analogous movie comes to mind, "12 Years a Slave". The screenplay has been nominated for an Oscar for best adaptation. It is based upon a real episode in the abominable history of slavery in the United States. In 1841, Solomon Northup, a free black man residing in upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

It's not his choice. His objective goal is to win back his freedom. But, as the story plays out, he is dependent on the kindness of others to achieve that goal. He can't achieve that goal by himself -- does that conform to the standard template of how a protagonist is supposed to rise to the challenge, overcome a flaw, and use his character strengths to win the goal by his own wits and effort?

Or take "Slaughterhouse Five", a faithful adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's book based upon his own experiences as POW in the closing days of WW2. What is Billy Pilgrim's objective goal other than to survive and go with the flow as he is unstuck in time?

What positive objective goal does Oskar Matzerath have, the protagonist of "The Tin Drum", adapted from G?nter Grass's novel about living through the Nazi era in Germany? (Oskar's negative objective goal is to refuse to grow up.)

nicholasandrewhalls Good points. Let's see I can spark.