Born on the Fourth of July Review & Analysis

Rating: 8/10 (26 March 2013)

The film, Born on the Fourth of July, produced and directed by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic, was overall a very emotionally engaging and entertaining film that helped convey the hardship and struggle that Vietnam War veterans faced after returning to the United States. This film, which was released in 1989, was adapted from the best selling autobiography of the same name, written by Ron Kovic, an actual Vietnam War veteran. This film follows the life story of Ron Kovic as he serves the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and after he returns to the United States as a deeply troubled individual, haunted by his past and his disabilities. This film explores a lot of fundamental issues that Vietnam War veterans faced while trying to reintegrate into society and continue on with their lives.
The film, Born on the Fourth of July begins with Ron Kovic as a small child attending a Fourth of July parade where war veterans are seen marching on. This is the first scene that highlights some of the hardship and trauma veterans face after the war, where a soldier is seen flinching because of the sound of a firecracker popping, indicating of what seems to be post-traumatic stress disorder. As the film continues, Kovic, played by Tom Cruise, is seen enlisting in the United States Marine Corps after initially hearing a speech from an active duty marine, before the film suddenly jumps to his time in Vietnam. During his service in Vietnam, as he begins his second tour, Kovic's battalion is tricked into firing upon a nearby village by men of the Viet Cong, causing them to kill innocent villagers. Subsequently scarring Kovic, especially because of the death of a small baby boy at his hands. From there, the story progresses to a point where Kovic accidentally kills a fellow marine while in a dazed state, before he is finally shot as well. The subsequent part of the movie is Kovic after being sent back to the United States due to an injury that has caused him to be paralyzed waist down. The film continues with Kovic and his struggle being bound to a wheelchair, while the Veterans Affairs provides minimum support and inadequate services. With all his relationships with other people damaged, Kovic's life is left in shambles, causing him to eventually go to a "haven" for Vietnam War veterans in Mexico. With his move to Mexico only further causing him to feel more alone, isolated, and broken, Kovic decides to work towards reassembling his life by first reconciling with the family of the soldier he accidentally killed and by also joining the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. A group of veterans who push to fight against further involvement in Vietnam.
This adaption of Ron Kovic's autobiography was a very well made film appealing to the audience's sympathy and heart by introducing and exploring what it is like for many veterans out there who have been wounded, who have killed, or have seen friends that have been injured or who have died. This film effectively depicts many of the larger issues that Vietnam War veterans have faced. For example, throughout the movie, besides being paralyzed, Kovic is constantly seen flinching when there are loud sounds around. A sign of PTSD (post- traumatic stress disorder), a common disorder that many war veterans acquire after going through traumatic experiences in warfare. Furthermore, Born on the Fourth of July successfully conveys and shows the feelings, thoughts, and actions of a deeply disturbed veteran, through Kovic's character. Similar to many soldiers who serve in war, Kovic is haunted by his actions and by the things he witnessed. For example, immediately after killing a fellow marine in Vietnam and watching that baby boy die, Kovic is mentally scarred to the point where he constantly has flashbacks, doubts, and anxiety attacks. Going through something as traumatic as that, Kovic is unable to speak of his experiences, seen in one of the scenes where he refuses to tell a fellow war veteran what he had done in Vietnam.
Born on the Fourth of July also effectively displays the ideologies and ignorance of many Americans during the beginning of the Vietnam War, as well as the conditions that Vietnam War veterans had to come back to. During the beginning of the film, as expected, the majority of the people, including Kovic held the belief that the United States was in Vietnam for a good reason, which was to fight against the spread of communism. However, only after seeing the number of casualties the war was bringing with no sign of a close end, did people finally begin to see how unnecessary and brutal the war was. As seen in the last scenes of the film, crowds of people, which included Vietnam War veterans, began to protest against the war because it was clear that the war was unnecessarily putting American lives in danger. Besides this, this film also shows the conditions to which veterans had to come back to. As seen in the film, the VA and its facilities were deplorable due to lack of funding and support. In the film, it is made apparent of the lack of doctors and qualified staff that is present to help the veterans recuperate and recover. This film does well to accurately convey the different mindsets of Americans during the Vietnam War, as well as the largely unfavorable circumstances that veterans came back to.
In conclusion, Born on the Fourth of July is a very entertaining and informative film that helps shed light on the times surrounding the Vietnam War, where tension in society rose and the United States involvement in Vietnam only increased. Focused on the life story of Ron Kovic and his experiences as a Vietnam War veteran, this film has successfully presented the issues and circumstances that America was in, as well as the hardship that awaited the Vietnam War veterans.