This is what war is when you're fighting in it!

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 1999)

I sat down for on a rainy Sunday afternoon for some easy-to-follow-hero-stuff. Apparently I hadn't paid attention while making a choice at the videostore and got caught by something completely different. This movie shows how I always thought war would be like when you're actually fighting in it. It shows the constant fear whether you'll live through the next moment. The disorientation of being in an hostile environment. The atypical behavior (or is it precisely typical) you develop in that environment. The doubt of what you are doing is right of wrong. Being almost delivered up to the mercy of higher ranking officers with ambitions, who will gladly give up your life to reach their goal. All this is brought to you by the random thoughts of the individual soldier. The casting adds to the feeling of alienation: big names that are almost anonymous in the crowd of "war-meat" and live and die just as the rest. In essence it's about the risk of loosing you're humanity. And what's the purpose of it all? As Sean Penn states at one point: "It's all about property", which - to my opinion - is basically true.