Weird portrayal of insanity that prevailed in different forms by those who fought in the Vietnam wars...

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2001)

1st watched 6/3/2001 - 8 out of 10 (Dir-Francis Coppola): Weird portrayal of insanity that prevailed in different forms by those who fought in the Vietnam wars. This is much more than a war movie. It is about "the horror"(as Brando's character echoes) that consumes human being when they seek after power and meaning in a totally messed-up world. Coppola usually works with extremes which reveals what he is up to in his movies. The real star of the movie is Martin Sheen because he is there from beginning to end, although Brando got more attention. Sheen's character is a man who knows nothing but the war and could not leave to go to any other setting. He is summoned to hunt down Kurtz in Cambodia(outside of our war zone) and is told that he has lost his senses and is leading a group of natives and basically has become their God. Sheen and a few navy people head up the Nam river to find Kurtz and run into a few strange people along the way. One (an officer played by Robert Duvall) is more concerned with surfing than being an officer in the war. What makes this picture works is that the insanity doesn't end. Kurtz is found and after Sheen's character spends some time with him, he does his duty. This is insanity in itself because he realizes that Kurtz is no worse than anyone else when he gets there but does not stop himself. Weird, long but absorbing movie that tells a great story and deserved more attention than it got.