The horror of war, its beauty on film.

Rating: 9/10 (21 August 2011)

Between 1979 and 1987, three of the most poignant, relevant filmmakers of the time all left their stamp on different aspects of the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone addressed the duality of men in Platoon, Stanley Kubrick showcased breeding insanity versus the will to stay alive in Full Metal Jacket, and Francis Ford Coppola presented a mind-bending insight into war as an illusionary trip. And while my personal favourite among these films changes regularly, one thing I am sure of is that they are all masterpieces, and Apocalypse Now, for this week at least, may be the best of the lot.
Martin Sheen is Captain Ben Willard, tasked with the covert mission of venturing deep into the jungles of Cambodia to locate and assassinate Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Kurtz, a once-promising soldier, has since abandoned the needs of his country and gone completely insane, setting himself up as a god among a native tribe and ruling with dictatorial brutality.
The movie is more road trip than firefight, but I don't mean to sound condescending at all. Most of the film consists of Willard and his small group of soldiers making the trek to Kurtz's stronghold, encountering bizarre characters and scenarios along the way. The most prominent of these is Lieutenant Kilgore (Robert Duvall, rounding up the Godfather reunion), a surfie soldier who'd be terrifying if he weren't so welcoming.
It is from this point onwards that Apocalypse Now transcends the standard parameters of a war film and becomes a hallucinogenic cinematic experience. Many scenes convey such unique, unheard-of aspects of war that they leave you wondering whether what you just saw was real, or an alternate perception of reality seen through the eyes of the drug-taking soldiers. Visual bewilderment is on high supply during the set action pieces as well, with their abrupt ending having the effect of taking repeated blows to the head, then having to get back up as quickly as possible.
But the otherworldly nature of the film is best reflected in the cinematography and sound. Deep shades of orange, gold and purple engulf almost every moment, and the sparing yet effective use of superimposed imagery compounds the eeriness. As for audio, it is easy to point to the excellent use of Ride of the Valkyries during Kilgore's air raid, but that is just scratching the surface. A haunting half-electronic, half-orchestral score dominates the rest of the film, while extracts of The End (by The Doors, a band that has always had a strange resonance with the Vietnam War) complete a flawless technical display.
As Willard and Kurtz meet for the first time, Apocalypse Now goes into thematic overdrive. Most obvious is the old notion that absolute power corrupts absolutely. As the film progresses, we learn that Kurtz's desire to return home diminishes in contrast with his growing godly stature. But the film goes on to raise all sorts of questions regarding vanity and pride in the self, as well as the moral implications of death, and if it can accepted in certain circumstances.
Finally, I feel obliged to mention an event towards the end of the movie, without giving away any major plot points. The climax is intercut with the infamous real-life slaughter of a water buffalo, which occurs in a most inhumane manner. Whether Coppola was justified in his actions (by simply filming an event that was going to be carried out by the natives anyway) depends on which sources you choose to believe. From a purely cinematic perspective, though, it compliments the climax in spectacular fashion. But just as concerning is the aftermath. As the characters that continue to live ponder their actions, the ending is ambiguous in the way that we, as the audience, can only imagine how the evils they have seen will torture them long after the film's events have ended. All the while the war rages on.
*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review.*