'Only the dead have seen the end of war'

Rating: 10/10 (28 August 2016)

'Only the dead have known the end of war.'
This is the statement by the classical philosopher Plato with which the film commences. And it is well chosen for this is the theme of this magnificent and thought provoking film.
I don't need to say any more on the excellent cinematography and pacing of Black Hawk Down, as so many of the threads have noted. It is a Ridley Scott film after all. His eye never fails him but he is always reliant on a good script and his failures have been films lacking them but here the script is for its subject spot on.
I wish to make my own personal, political observation, which is what the film provokes in me, beyond, of course, its excellent entertainment value.
In the jargon of geopolitics, Somalia was, and today tragically still is, a 'failed state'. Without preaching at you, Black Hawk Down gives you the visceral experience of what fighting in a failed state is like, from both the American and the Somali perspective. The film hints at the limits of American power with echoes of the previous American defeat in Vietnam but also at the idealism which brought American soldiers into the country in the first place, trying to bring peace, justice and food to the desperate, starving and cruelly exploited Somali populace. The fate of the West, and perhaps the fate of the world, now more than ever will depend upon a hundred more such missions as depicted in Black Hawk Down and whether we win them or not; indeed, whether we fight them or not. This is the ultimate test of humanity, to be borne by both civilians in the midst of a brutal civil war and the peacekeeper soldiers brought in from outside whose story is told in this film.
This entertaining but also harrowing film provides the cue for the more thoughtful of us to reflect on the human condition. Given the perfect geopolitical storm, is any country on this earth, , entirely immune from the risk of becoming a 'failed state'? We should not arrogantly assume that any of our countries could never, ever descend to the level of Somalia, with brave but stressed soldiers struggling to hold the ring and civilians caught in the murderous crossfire. This is what Black Hawk Down means philosophically to me, a warning for the future for any country, however prosperous and peaceful it may presently be, and a warning for the future of humanity.
With regard to the performances, I thought that Eric Bana was particularly good in the film as a reflective, quietly competent, decent and brave American soldier. I wish we had subsequently seen more of him.