I will not watch this movie again

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2020)

I have watched it three times already, and each time I couldn't sleep for a week.
I'll bypass the usual stuff about the film, you can read it in other reviews,aside from mentioning that Casualties of War is based on a true historical event (which is even more disgusting than the film)
Now, the performance of Thuy Thu Le is one of the best i have ever seen. I cannot imagine from where did she get the inspiration to express such anguish, terror and torment so vividly. In my opinion, the role of Oanh, aside from real life facts, was tailored to provoke a powerful reaction, and several moments in the film intensify it further - such as the scarf (as in the one that her mother gave her, to keep her warm, before she was raped, stabbed, and shot), a broom (which she grasps when there's nothing else to hold on to), etc. This, supported by Morricone's masterful score makes supremely powerful scenes. Oanh's face will remain seared in my mind forever, without a shadow of a doubt.
As for the role of Michael J Fox ( Eriksson ) i believe that there is a subtle aspect of it - Through it, the viewers themselves feel powerlessness. Any normal human being (as a first-time viewer) would hope/expect for the girl to survive, and that sense of impotence is,i think, what De Palma was aiming at. That look of hope on Oanh's face would compel any man to do everything in his power to save her - yet you cannot do anything.
About Penn's role - I hated him, as a fictional character that he portrayed, of course. Again, De Palma subtly hides Meserve's motivation -He is justifying his actions with the hatred towards the enemy. If a person looks at it rationally, and what De Palma portrays, here's what you get - Meserve is furious that his friend/friends are killed by the defenders of a sovereign country, that are defending their territory and people from a foreign aggressor. And what does he do? He shifts that hatred toward an innocent civilian girl that (by implications) never even saw a rifle, let alone used it to defend her country. The fact that he repeatedly justifies himself is plainly disgusting. With this De Palma expresses that - there are no heroes in a war. One side's hero is another side's butcher, abomination.
Is it a good movie? Yes, it is a masterpiece.
Would I watch it again? No way
Would i recommend it? No, it will carve the sense of deepest sorrow that you will never forget.