"Death? Whadda ya'll know about death?"

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2002)

SPOILERS
This sits right behind `The Godfather' as my all time favorite movie. Actually I have probably watched this film more times than any other. A friend and I had seen this so many times that if one of us quoted a line from it the other would answer with the next part of the script and then we would go on for about 15 minutes verbatim from the dialogue (much to the annoyance of anyone around us).
Though I've never been in combat, I have been in the Army for 17 years and I have a feeling (from knowing my fellow soldiers like I do) that this movie is accurate in portraying combat and the life of the grunt in Vietnam. And if it is this verite that compels the film, it the acting that keeps it focused. The supporting cast is tight and the three main players (Sheen, Berenger and Dafoe) are outstanding. Stone really inspired these men and brought out indelible performances.
The intensity of this work is severe. It is commensurate with a good horror film that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but in this case the horror is all too real. Three scenes are particularly nonplusing: the playing of `Tracks of My Tears' in the middle of the film as a clear point in which to delineate the hopelessness of the soldiers; the fulminating village scene culminating in Barnes with the gun to the little girls head and the disconcerted face of Chris as he strains with emotion, wanting to say something; and the incomparable tableau of Elias' death, arms outstretched to the sky as the chopper flies by. That scene has affected me like few scenes ever have, and it always takes me a few minutes to recover from it. It is one of the most powerful film moments I have ever seen. And Stone's choice of `Aidiago For Strings' for the background music was very perceptive.
The only question I have about the movie is the ending. I can't praise it or condemn it. I suppose that it is realistic, but it seems to lessen the humanity of Chris especially considering his final words about going from this point to make a better world. It just seems like such a great film deserved a better ending but, as I cannot come up with one myself, I'll keep my criticism low.
A quick side note: I met Corey Glover who played `Francis' (the guy who stabs himself in the leg at the end in order to go home) in Stuttgart Germany. He was the lead singer for the band `Living Colour' (they had a hit with the song `Cult of Personality') and they were playing a club there. He was very cordial and talkative. I didn't realize at the time that he had even been in the film until I watched it for a second time on video and noticed his name.