Birdsong (2012) BBC Adaptation of Sebastian Faulk’s Masterful WWI Novel
Finally the long-awaited BBC TV adaptation of Sebastian Faulk’s WWI novel Birdsong is shown on British TV. It’s a two-part adaptation that got a lot of rave preview reviews.
I’m sure all those who loved the novel, would want to watch this and all those who are interested in WWI as well.
I missed part I but they will air it again shortly. As soon as I’ve seen part I and II will post my review.
Game of Thrones – A Song of Ice and Fire (2011) Epic Fantasy Starring Sean Bean
“Winter is coming. There is a war coming.”
I’m not going to bore you with any justification why I included Game of Thrones in my war movie blog. There are a few good explanations other than that I LOVE this series. I’m a sucker for epic fantasy, it’s my favourite guilty pleasure. Although compared to Lord of the Rings, this series has elements of Braveheart, King Arthur, 300, Rome, Centurion and Gladiator. Game of Thrones is a large-scale genre blend that is like nothing I have ever seen on TV before.
I have just watched the first episodes and really love it. I haven’t read the books by George R. R. Martin yet (we are talking 3000+ pages) but I’m seriously tempted before watching more of the series.
The series starts with a scene in a snow-covered forest. A small group of men, the Night Watch, encounters something unspeakable. Most of them will not survive the encounter. The only survivor is brought before Lord Stark (Sean Bean). The explanation he gives for what spurred his cowardly escape is strange, he says to have seen an ancient evil that hasn’t been lurking in the forest for 2000 years. Since he is not believed, he is sentenced.
Lord Stark is the master of Winterfell. The Starks are only one influential family in the divided world of Westeros. Intrigues and fights for the throne are constant, no family can trust an other one and even inside of one family there may be traitors. Winterfell lies in the North, King’s Landing, where King Baratheos reigns, lies in the South. Border between the North and the wild that outstretches far beyond the horizon is the Wall, a barrier made out of pure ice. The Night Watch is in charge of guarding the Wall. Being sent to the Wall is a questionable honor. The most able fighters are dispatched together with convicts, orphans and other outcasts.
In the first series we are introduced to four different families and the story moves between them. This is all quite fascinating and there are some interesting and complex characters to be discovered. What makes for an especially intense atmosphere is the threat of war and winter. This is a world in which seasons follow another rhythm than in ours. Winter can last longer than three years or not come at all for decades. It can be intense or light but it always brings unspeakable things, unrest and war. At the beginning of the series all the wise old men and women whisper to one another, they say that winter is coming and that it will be long and awful.
Do you like Lord of the Rings? Did you like Rome, King Arthur, 300 and Centurion? Are you a Sean Bean fan? Do you consider epic fantasy and action movies to be worthy of your attention? If so, I guess that you have to watch this stunning new HBO series.
Last but not least, this isn’t a series for prudish people. The episodes showing the Dothraki people and their wild ways and interactions with their women includes quite a bit of nudity.
Tom Cruise’s War Movies
This post could also have been a quiz. How many war movies or/and war related movies starring Tom Cruise do you know? I have counted 9. That seems quite a lot. Although I’m not exactly a Tom Cruise fan but he is very good in some of the movies below.
Valkyrie (2008) This is a must-see movie based on a true event. Cruise plays von Stauffenberg, the man who attempted to assassinate Hitler. Too bad it didn’t work. It’s suspenseful despite that we know the outcome, interesting and tragic.
Tropic Thunder (2008) Bad taste and hilarious, in this movie nothing is sacred. A parody of war movies (especially Vietnam/Platoon), the film industry and a few other things. Cruise is extremely funny in this. He’s the ruthless greedy producer who is willing to send a film crew to certain death if success is guaranteed. (Here is my review)
Lions for Lambs (2007) Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in a movie that has been called great by many. I have seen it but remember zero. I think because it didn’t have a good story line, just a fairly good idea. Here is the IMdB blurb: “Injuries sustained by two Army ranger behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.”
War of the Worlds (US 2005) Yes, this is stretching the genre a little bit and I haven’t seen it. No clue whether it is any good. It’s not my type of movie. Here’s another IMdB blurb: “As Earth is invaded by alien tripod fighting machines, one family fights for survival.”
Last Samurai (2003) I just watched this, so the review is upcoming. Very beautiful movie starring Tom Cruise as hardened Civil War veteran who is hired to teach combat techniques to Japanese soldiers. (See my review)
A Few Good Men (1992) This is one of my favourite guilty pleasures. A gripping court-room drama with a great cast: Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland and Jack Nicholson.
Born on the 4th of July (1989) Based on Ron Kovic’s memoir. Cruise gives an outstanding performance of Kovic who volunteered to go to Vietnam, came home as a cripple and joins the Anti-Vietnam movement.
Top Gun (1986) Action and romance about aspiring fighter pilots in an elite US flying school. A really corny movie but the favourite guilty pleasure of many.
Taps (1981) Story of some military cadets who want to save their academy at any price.
My favourite Tom Cruise movie regardless of the genre is Magnolia but my favourite Tom Cruise war movie is Valkyrie. I really liked the movie and his performance in it a great deal. And I liked him in A Few Good Men.
Which one is your favourite?
All About War Movies is One Year Old or A Best of War Movie List
What started as a simple experiment to fight procrastination and get me back into a daily writing routine has become sort of an institution. Another aim of this blog was to explore the topic of war movies systematically. It ended up being less systematic than intended. For the time being that is. I still have a project in the back of my mind and should I find more time I will pursue it. I have lost a few friends and won a few on the way. What does that mean you wonder, well, I had some funny reactions from people I know in real life. Seems as if my interest in war movies didn’t match the picture they had of me… Do I care? A little bit but not too much.
Ok, now, so this little blogging project is one year old. I have written 220 posts, at first three per week and then, during last summer, almost daily. If I wasn’t writing two other blogs, maybe I would have gone on at that pace.
I could tell you a lot of different things looking back on this year, a lot of things about myself but let’s not go there. In lieu of all that let me give you a best of list. A very personal best of list that takes into consideration what I like, nothing else.
Best movie on the Napoleonic wars
Waterloo
Best Civil War Movie
Glory
Best WWI movie
Gallipoli
Best WWII movie
When Trumpets Fade
Best Vietnam
Platoon
Best Vietnam Vet
Jacknife
Best Korea
Gotta pass, haven’t seen enough
Best Gulf War
Three Kings
Best Iraq
Battle for Haditha
Best other American war movies
Black Hawk Down
Best Resistance
L’armée du crime aka The Army of Crime
Best German war movie
Stalingrad
Best Submarine movie
Das Boot
Best Sniper movie
Enemy at the Gates
Best War Romance
Casablanca
Best least known war movie
When Trumpets Fade
Best female actress in a war movie
Madeleine Stowe in Last of the Mohicans
Best war movie score
Black Hawk Down
Most watched war movie
Black Hawk Down
Best Irish Civil War
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Best Hitler Movie
Der Untergang aka The Downfall
Best Holocaust movie
The Pianist
Best Remake
Are you joking?
Best epic war movie
King Arthur
Most surprising war movie
My Boy Jack
Best Infantry combat
Saving Private Ryan
Best Cavalry Combat
The Lighthorsemen
Best Air Combat
The Dam Busters
Best Naval Combat
Master and Commander
Funniest war movie
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Best Children and War
Voces Inocentes aka Innocent Voices
Best War and Journalism
Welcome to Sarajevo
Best POW
Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
Best Legal Drama
Judgement at Nuremberg
Best war movie poster
Platoon
Most dreaded war movie (obviously not watched yet)
Tha Battle of Algiers
Yeah well, I could go on but that’s it and since it’s my blog’s birthday, I’m lazy and will not link the movies. Or just not today…
Bang Rajan (2000) or Have You Ever Heard of a Thai War Movie?
Set right before the fall of Thailand’s old capital, Ayuttaya, Bang Rajan draws on the legend of a village of fighters who bravely fended off the Burmese armies. With no support from the Royal army, the villagers drives the invading Burmese away many times until their names have become legendary during the time. As each subsequent battles becomes fiercer, the villagers tries to forge a canon to battle the enemy in a final battle where everyone, women and children included, die in combat. Written by Ploy P. (IMDb)
Set in 1765 Bang Rajan tells the story of a Siamese village who has to fight invading Burmese forces. Someone called this a movie about fighting adversity. It seems to be the only movie that contains a buffalo-mounted cavalry charge. The battle scenes seem realistic as there are loads of extras and no computer enhancements.
As you may have deduced I haven’t seen it yet but thought it worthwhile to share it as I have so many movies on my to-be-watched list that it doesn’t seem likely I will watch this soon. And, who knows, maybe one of my readers is in desperate need of watching a Thai war movie about this particular conflict.
If you’d like a brush-up on the conflict itself here’s a wikipedia article to start with.
Whoever gets to watch this before me, come back and tell me how it was.
The 19 War Movies, War Adventures and War Romances that Won the Academy Award for Best Film
A while back one of my readers, Cliff, suggested to do a post on war movies that won the Academy Award for Best Film. I finally collected them and am going to share the list with you. I must say I was amazed to see how many there are. There are of course a few I have never seen, but many are very familiar. Out of my Top 10 there is only one, Platoon. The posters I added for you are from the first and the last so far to win the award, Wings and The Hurt Locker. The list shows the year when the movie won which is not always identical with the year it was produced. You will see easily that there are not many infantry combat movies on that list, that’s probably why there is only one of my Top 10 List (that you can see here) as I chose mainly combat movies. Still it is an interesting list and it puts me in the mood to re-watch some of them. It seems to be as if the 90ies were THE war movie decade. I wonder why. Any ideas?
Wings (1928)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Cavalcade (1933)
Casablanca (1943)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Ben Hur (1959)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Patton (1970)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Platoon (1986)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Braveheart (1995)
The English Patient (1996)
Gladiator (2000)
The Hurt Locker (2009)
A Story of Naval Combat in the Vein of Master & Commander or Why You Should Watch the TV Series Hornblower (1998-2003)
The British TV series Hornblower or Horatio Hornblower is based on the books by C.S. Forester starring Ioan Gruffudd (King Arthur) as Horatio Hornblower.
It is the movie that is closest to the fabulous Master & Commander that I have seen so far. Sure, there are older movies on the Napoleonic Wars and naval combat but this is my favourite.
I think there are a total of 8 installments. They mostly have two titles, a British and an American one.
Here are 10 reasons why you should give Hornblower at least a try:
1. If you are looking for movies that resemble Master & Commander
2. If you enjoy naval combat and some gripping rapier fights
3. If you care for a likable character who has to overcome obstacles and wins in the end
4. If you are a fascinated by this period in time and interested in the Napoleonic Wars
5. If you enjoy POW stories (one whole episode shows Hornblower as a captive)
6. If you like a gripping story
7. If two-hour movies are too short for you and you like well made mini series
8. If you are a fan of Ioan Gruffud
9. If you don’t care for too much romance but like a bit on the side to add another dimension
10. If you like a wide range of fascinating characters, some of which are cunning and evil, others kind and heroic
10 Vietnam War Movies You Must See Before You Die
The following 10 Vietnam War Movies are the ones you absolutely must see. There are more. Many I have seen, some I have not. You may be astonished that one of the most famous ones, Apocalypse Now, is not among them… I wanted to stick to 10 and these are my 10 choices. I always found Apocalypse Now slightly dubious. Whatever. The list is in chronological order. I did not want to weigh them against each other as they show quite different aspects of the same war.
The Deer Hunter (1978): Young second generation Russian-Americans volunteer to prove themselves and serve their country. In Vietnam they are captured and suffer as POWs and are forced to play Russian roulette. They come home disillusioned and physically and psychologically broken.
Platoon (1986): Infantry combat. A young man volunteers to go to Vietnam and soon sees his dreams shattered. He gets caught between two antagonistic officers, the ultimately good Sgt. Elias and the mean Sgt. Barnes.
Hamburger Hill (1987): No-nonsense infantry combat at its toughest. A group of soldiers of mixed social backgrounds and ethnic origins must fight a senseless battle for a hill.
Full Metal Jacket (1987): Artsy movie. First part is an unforgettable look at boot camp horrors. The second centers on street fighting in Vietnam. Unusual setting. Vivid, haunting pictures.
Jacknife (1989): A brilliant De Niro in the role of a memorable Vietnam vet. (More details on this movie in my post).
Born on the 4th of July (1989): Maybe the ultimate anti-war statement and a in-depth exploration of masculinity. A movie that makes you cringe.
84 Charlie MoPic (1989): Documentary style but much better than the Iraq movie Redacted. Embedded journalists follow an infantry combat unit in the bush.
Heaven and Earth (1993): A look at the other side. What was the meaning of this war for Vietnamese civilians?
Tigerland (2000): Boot camp. We see the soldiers train long before they are shipped out. Tensions rise until a drama unfolds.
We Were Soldiers (2002): The only Vietnam War Movie that truly attempts to show more than one side. Close look at the Vietnamese command. Heavy combat. Story switches between battle field and home front where the wives wait for the letters who will inform them they have become widows. Very emotional but not unproblematic movie. Too much trying to make us believe it was a “good war”.
Maybe you disagree with this list. Let me know which ones you would choose. Which one do you really prefer?
Overlord: An Overlooked War Movie Masterpiece
The British war movie Overlord is one of the most original and best war movies I have ever seen. Since its coming out in 1975 it has mostly been forgotten although it was highly accalimed at the time. That it is widely unknown today is really a pity. It is quite a simple movie, very short as well, only some 70 minutes, but it touches you like not many other. Overlord tells in a very personal way the story of a young man, Tom Beddows, who is going to war. He goes to boot camp, meets a young girl and knows he will be part of a big offensive that will send him to France. He will be part of Operation Overlord which was the codename of the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces in WWII on June 6 1944 ( better known as D-Day). Tom doesn´t really want to be where he is but eventually gets accustomed to his new environment and the idea of going into battle. All through the movie he has dreams where he sees himself dying and he is quite convinced he wont return. Finally we see him being shipped out together with his comrades who are all afraid of what awaits them.
As such this may not seem very special but the way this is done is just great. The movie was filmed in black and white and the story of Tom Beddows is interwoven with original footage of bombed cities, planes, bombed trains, the landing itself and many other elements. This is done so well that the alternating parts blend into each other as if they were one movie.
Since it focuses so closely on one person (with just a few exceptions) it is very intimate. You get the feeling that this is not just anyone going to war but a young guy you might know and like since Tom is gentle and endearing.
All the original footage, that is very well-chosen, is by far more convincing than many CGI or reenactment parts of other movies.
It’s a perfect little movie that would probably even be appreciated by people who would normally never watch a war movie. Should you ever want to convince someone that the genre deserves its appreciation Overlord could be your choice to prove it.
It might also be great as a way to teach WWII in schools as there is no gratuitous violence.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) or Two Brothers Torn Apart by the Irish Civil War
The Wind that Shakes the Barley opens on a group of young men joyfully playing a game of hurling. After the game has ended we watch them return home to their modest houses. Some are still standing together smoking and talking, when all of a sudden a group of British soldiers approaches out of nowhere confronting them with the fact that they did break the law. Meetings are strictly forbidden and even a game of hurling is considered to be an assemly and thus a possible act of rebellion. The scene heats up immediately when the young men answer in Gaelic upon being asked their names. The episode ends in a blood bath, one of the young men being beaten to a pulp and dead.
This is shocking. One can hardly believe one’s eyes since this is no invention. The British subjugated the Irish fiercely and anything resembling rebellion from their side ended in severe punishment.
Ken Loach´s movie The Wind that Skakes the Barley (the title is taken from an Irish Ballad) embraces both moments in Irish history, first The Irish War of Independence and then The Irish Civil War. At the core of the story that is set in county Cork are the two O´Donovan brothers, Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Pádraic Delaney). At the onset of the war Damien is about to leave his native Ireland for London where a position as a doctor at a hospital is waiting for him. Seeing the brutality and the cruelty his people face and knowing that his brother will be leading a guerilla party, he stays to join them. At that time the British government sent the so-called “Black and Tans” to brutally reinforce their power. The old IRA started to strike back.
After long months of heavy fighting they were asked to sign a treaty which would guarantee the Irish their own government and established the Irish Free State. However six Northern counties would stay within the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. This is the moment when the Civil War erupts and Pro Free State (headed by Michael Collins) troops fought the Anti-treaty forces. In the movie the tragedy unfolds as the brothers go different ways. Teddy accepts and supports the Free State while Damien wants to fight until all of Ireland is free. He believes that they have fought in vain if they give up now. It is unbelievable but the Civil War cost finally more lives than the War of Independence.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley was as hard to watch and as depressing as L´armée des ombres. The methods applied resemble those applied by the French Resistance. They wouldn’t even shy away from killing their own in the event of betrayal. We also see people being shot and people being tortured.
This movie is also hard to watch since it reveals a really ugly aspect of the British Empire. If you are British this will be hard to accept, if you like the British it will be equally hard and if you are Irish this will truly infuriate you. One can simply not understand why the Empire had to make the already impoverished, famished and sick Irish suffer so much. I read that this part of their history is not really taught in English schools. I think many English people would be shocked and astonished when they see this and might understand a lot better what was ultimately behind the Troubles.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is very intense. The pictures of the beautiful, lush green countryside contrast starkly with the brutalities depicted. The story of the two brothers who end up torn apart by their conflicting ideals is very tragic. and both actors do a great job
There is no doubt that this movie deserved the Palme d´ Or it won in 2006. Even though I am sure the movie could not cover all the aspects and the whole complexity of the Wars, it raises the awareness. It´s simply stated a brilliant movie. But it is not entertaining for one second. Harsh but recommended viewing really.
Children in War Movies: A List
In this post I would like to focus on war movies in which children have leading roles and are not just supporting actors like in The Hurt Locker to name but one example.
There are many movies whose sole focus are children. They come from different countries, show different conflicts and times but they have one thing in common: they are all good, very good or outstanding. This is quite remarkable. It is as if those film directors who aim for entertainment only would shy away from showing children in war movies. All the movies listed below are very different in tone. Some are light and almost playful, like Hope and Glory, some are depressing and raw like Come and See, others have the quality of a fairytale like Pan´s Labyrinth.
I am sure my list is not exhaustive. If you know of any others, let me know. I will try and review most of them in later posts, like I already did with Hope and Glory (see post), Welcome to Sarajevo (link to post), The Children of Huang Shi (see post) and Savior (see post). I am stating the name and the year and country in brackets. The conflict and where the war takes place follow behind. I did include a few movies with teenagers in it like The Bridge or Napola, but most of the others focus on much smaller children. I did also include Savior as the newborn is central to the story.
I am sure you will discover many you did not know yet as I did.
The Drum (GB, 1938): India
Mrs Miniver (US 1942): WWII, British Homefront
Since You Went Away (US, 1944): WWII, American Homefront (here is my review)
Roma, Città Aperta aka Rome, Open City (Italy, 1945): WWII, Italy
Kim (US, 1950): India
Forbidden Games aka Jeux interdits (1952, France): WWII, France
The Bridge aka Die Brücke (1959, Germany): WWII, Germany
Two Women aka La ciociara (1960, Italy/France): WWII, Italy
Ivan’s Childhood aka Ivanovo detstvo (1962, Soviet Union): WWII, Russia
Hornet´s Nest (1970, USA): WWII, Italy
Lacombe Lucien (1974, France): WWII, France
The Tin Drum aka Die Blechtrommel (Germany, 1979): WWII, Germany
Hope and Glory (1987, UK): WWII, Blitz (Here is my review)
Empire of the Sun (1987, USA) : Chinese-Japanese War WWII
Au-revoir les enfants aka Goodbye, Children (1987, France/Germany): WWII, Holocaust,France
Grave of the Fireflies aka Hotaru no haka (1988, Japan): WWII, Japan. Anime. (See my post)
Europa, Europa aka Hitlerjunge Salomon (1990 Germany/France/Poland): WWII, Germany (See my review)
Come and See aka Idi i smotri(1985, Soviet Union): WWII, Byelorussia
The Ogre aka Der Unhold (1996, France/Germany/UK): WWII, Nazi Germany
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997, USA) : Bosnia
Life is beautiful aka La vita è bella (1997, Italy): WWII, Holocaust (see post on La vita è bella)
Savior (1998, USA ): Bosnia
Silent Night (2002, USA): WWII, Germany (see my post on Silent Night)
Innocent Voices aka Voces inocentes (2004, Mexico/USA/Puerto Rico): El Salvador (see my post on Innocent Voices)
Turtles can fly aka Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand (2004, Iran/France/Iraq): Iraq
Before the Fall aka Napola (2004, Germany): WWII, Germany (see my review of NaPola)
Pan´s Labyrinth aka El laberinto del fauno (2006, Spain): WWII Franco´s Spain
Under the Bombs aka Sous les Bombes (2007, France/Lebanon): 2006, Lebanon (see my review of Under the Bombs)
Miracle at St. Anna (2008, US): WWII, Italy (here is my review)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008, UK/USA): WWII, Holocaust (see my review)
Escape from Huang Shi aka The Children of Huang Shi (2008, Australia, China, Germany, USA): Japanese occupation of China
Winter in Wartime aka Oorlogswinter (2008, Netherlans, Belgium): WWII, occupied Hollad in Winter, 1945 (here is the link to my post)
The Fortress of War aka Brestskaya krepost (2010, Russia): WWII, Russia 1941. Germans attack the Brest Fortress (here is the link to my post).
This list is being updated regularly.
Some Actors of The Wire and their Roles in Recent War Movies
I am not the most avid viewer of series but there are some I did or do enjoy a lot. Six Feet Under was just excellent and so is True Blood. I also quite like Dexter. One of the best series however is The Wire, pretty awesome. Maybe you liked The Wire too and were wondering what some of the excellent actors did after the The Wire has ended.
Set during the British Civil War, The Devil´s Whore is a very convincing historical drama. Dominic West, Detective Jimmy McNulty in The Wire, stars as Oliver Cromwell. This mini series is a must-see for everybody interested in British history. It does take some liberties with some facts but still it is more than just good.
Idris Elba who played the unlikable baddie Russell “Stringer” Bell in The Wire can be seen in the leading role in Sometimes in April. I have not seen this yet but I read that it is the best movie that has been done on the war in Rwanda. Far better than Hotel Rwanda. It is a TV production, maybe that is the reason why it is not widely known. Unlike Hotel Rwanda it really looks into the history of Rwanda and the reasons for the conflict.
Last but not least, James Ransone, who played the annoying character Ziggy Sobotka, stars as Cpl. Josh Ray Person at the side of Alexander Skarsgard in Generation Kill. A very good performance.
Ok, it is slightly off topic, but what series do you think are outstanding? Any preferences? Suggestions?
Stop-Loss (2008): The End of Denial or The War that Takes Place in Living rooms
“Sand, fleas, flies, heat, boredom. Or you can get shot at. Or blown up. That’s pretty much it. There are sheep on the highway”, says SSgt. Brandon King (a remarkable Ryan Philippe) in Stop-Loss after Steve’s girlfriend tells him that Steve doesn’t talk much about being over there. Brandon doesn’t go into details, he sums it up and turns it into a joke. It’s difficult to talk about it. And not even wanted as his father tells Brandon when he is getting too graphic. There is denial in both camps. Those who stay home do not want to know because they want to believe in their sons/lovers/friends/brothers doing the right thing. To be invulnerable heroes and return as such. Nothing really bad happens over there, right? Soldiers like Steve do not want to talk about it because they simply do not want to think about it. As soon as they start thinking, like Brandon does, the only thing they want is: getting out! And that’s when the trouble begins
Brandon has seen it all. His people dying, being terribly wounded and crippled for life. Dead civilians. The war taking place in living rooms. He’s done his job. He returns from a completed tour of duty in Iraq a hero and now he wants out. Unfortunately he is stop-lossed. In times of war, when there is no draft and not enough volunteers, the government can stop-loss soldiers, meaning send them back even if they want out.
What begins as a war movie with heavy fighting, interspersed with grunt-video like elements, turns now into a road movie. Brandon wants out and goes AWOL.
He and his best buddies girlfriend Michelle are taking a trip to… A new life with a fake identity or back to where his friends are?
Watch it and you will find out. It should suffice to say that this movie is a character study, a very critical look at what is going on “over there” and a way out of the speechlessness of those involved and those waiting for them. The young men, depicted in this movie are of the kind who rather hit you in the face than voice their uneasiness. They drink, they fight, they like to shoot guns and listen to heavy music. They are self-destructive but loyal friends. They do not have much other professional options but join the army.
The movie’s strength is not only to be highly watchable but to convey a deep feeling of sadness. Sadness about many things: the loss of naivety, the governments cheating, the waste of lives and ultimately hope.
