Casualties of War

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2008)

From director Brian De Palma (Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables), this is a very disturbing and provocative fact-based Vietnam war film drama, just as effective as one of Oliver Stone's. Basically new recruit PFC. Eriksson (Michael J. Fox), led by battle-scarred Sgt. Tony Meserve (young Sean Penn), along with fellow soldiers Cpl. Thomas E. Clark (Don Harvey), PFC. Herbert Hatcher (John C. Reilly) and PFC. Antonio Diaz (John Leguizamo) are obviously fighting in Vietnam. In their trek, they find out they are not allowed to the near village anymore, even with passes, so they decide kidnap a local woman, Tran Thi Oanh (Thuy Thu Le). Eriksson is objectionable to their intentions, they each plan to rape her, and they do so very brutally, and he obviously refuses to join in, and stands back doing nothing. There is a point when he tries to help her, feeding her, and trying to let her go, or help her get back to her people, but he is caught, and as a result, while she is hiding with the soldiers, trying to escape, they kill her! When Eriksson gets back to a camp, he is determined to see his fellow comrades get their justice for their terrible crimes of rape and murder, and thank goodness they do. Oh, and there is a point when going home, Eriksson sees a lookalike of the girl on the train (obviously the same actress), an interesting end sequence. Also starring Erik King as Cpl. Brown, Jack Gwaltney as PFC. Rowan, Pulp Fiction's Ving Rhames as Lt. Reilly, Dan Martin as Hawthorne, Dale Dye as Capt. Hill, Steve Larson as Agent #1, John Linton as Agent #2, Vyto Ruginis as Prosecutor and Al Shannon as Wilkins. I think what makes this film just as effective as an Oliver Stone Vietnam film is because it makes you realise how horrific the realities of the Vietnam war was, and it so horrible to think that men actually did this to poor innocent girls in their homeland, very risky content, but done very compassionately in terms of the both J. Fox and the girl's positions. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for Ennio Morricone. It was number 55 on The 100 Greatest War Films. Very good!