Duality of Man

Rating: Null/10 (19 January 2001)

Warning! May contain spoilers!
All throughout Kubrick's war drama, he suggests the duality of man, from the drill instructor's degrading rants and desire to see his men succeed, to Matthew Modine's assertion while in basic training that he is a killer contrasting with his obviously anti-war stance. While some feel that the movie is only half finished, with the post-Basic action being tacked on without any reason for existing, it is obvious that the hell of Basic is being compared to the hell that was Vietnam. As Modine finishes the movie with "My thoughts drift back to erect nipple wet dreams about Mary Jane Rottencrotch and the Great Homecoming F*** Fantasy. I am so happy that I am alive, in one piece and short. I'm in a world of s**t... yes. But I am alive. And I am not afraid.", in basic he was in a world of s**t, but he was alive. Vietnam could not offer him the same assurance. It's not common that one can refer to a war movie as life-affirming but this one may be the exception to the rule.