A Different perspective on war

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2010)

There are certain movies that can get the very extreme responses from viewers. They may be liked tremendously or maybe disliked thoroughly. MASH is one such movie. It is surely not meant for all. The movie first of all has got no definite plot, it is just a series of events interleaved together to create a satirical impact. Based on a Korean Army Hospital and it's staff of doctors, surgeons, nurses etc, it takes into account their journey filled with humor, insanity etc on the backdrop of a deadly war. There are innumerable characters in the movie, but predominant are two surgeons (Hawkeye and Duke), a chest-cutter (Trapper) and a slutty head nurse (Hot Lips). Humor is mostly in the form of witty satire on sex, girls(blondes), war, America and surgery. For example, the head nurse Hot Lips talks about degrading morals and manners in the army and at night sleeps with almost half of the unit. A Lot of focus on vulgarity is one of the reasons that can be a turn-off for viewers. The viewer may even feel that some events in the movie are added forcefully just to add to the movie humor quotient. One very most important character of the movie is the loudspeaker cum radio which can be heard between two scenes. Most of the announcements made are very funny and enhance the feel of the movie.
There is not a lot of scope to show acting talent in this movie which has many characters. But Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye, Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips and Elliott Gould as Trapper leave a mark. We can see Robert Duvall in a very short role, before his Godfather days. Frankly, I liked this movie in parts and hence cannot wholeheartedly recommend it to fellow cinema lovers. But, will surely say that watch it for it's different treatment of war. I bet you wouldn't have seen such a war movie before .
Rating : 7/10