Question 1: Symbolism, Many Hidden Themes

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2009)

Like others before have reiterated, there was no good way to come out of the Vietnam War unscathed. The Russian roulette sequence provided me with a very keen sense of what the film was about. When the POW's play the game--some of them dying immediately, others later on, etc.-- one can deduce that every single one of them will come to a demise sooner or later. It is a game that quite simply cannot be won. Symbolically speaking, every option that a drafted soldier had could not lead to good long-term results. Draft dodgers were looked down upon and couldn't return to the U.S., and those that did go to Vietnam never came back the same, with emotional, psychological, and/or physical scarring. One brilliant way that the director illustrates this is the connection that is created between the Russian roulette playing experiences of Nicky, Steven and Mike, and the future in store for them near the end and after the war. When Steve plays, he narrowly avoids death as the bullet barely grazes his head, leaving him visibly injured, but alive. As punishment for surviving, he is thrown in a cage, left to maybe die. After the war, Steven's legs are amputated, and he is "caged" to a limited, undesirable life he is forced to live, in a wheelchair. When Mike plays the game, nothing visibly harmful happens to him, and he helps everyone escape alive, but ironically, he suffers excessive emotional stress issues after the war. Emotions were pent up and problematic for many people after the war, even though they were physically well. Lastly, Nicky survives POW-Russian roulette to play another day, and again, ironically, he appears to suffer the most trauma playing the first time, being unable to pull the trigger on many occasions, but he strangely continues to play Russian roulette after the war is nearly over. He psychologically unravels as his rather long career progresses, until he goes for "one more shot,"--something Mike said to Nicky before they ambushed the Viet captors-- and ends up killing himself.