Wrong War

Rating: 1/10 (9 December 2009)

I remember seeing this in the theater when it came out. I just re-watched it on DVD. Anti-war, yes, it is. Artsy, yes. What bothers me the most about this movie is that it is really a Vietnam war movie, characters expressing anti-war and anti-authority sentiments not found in WW2. If these actions and characters were set in Vietnam, I'd rate it higher.
But it is not. I've studied WW2 for over 30 yrs and been in the military. Soldiers did not refuse orders back then. They rarely do so now. Yes, soldiers learn of the horrors and waste of war.
The Japanese did not surrender in WW2 as depicted in this movie - they killed themselves or made banzai charges, but they died rather than surrender. The battle scenes lacked realism, the explosions looked like something from the 1960's. The terrain doesn't look like Guadecanal. Soldiers were terribly thirsty but back then they 'manned up'. Colonels didn't have friendly chats with Captains to get them to attack. They gave orders and it was done.
Anti War and the horrors can be depicted in much tighter, shorter scripts than this. I agree the director was self-indulgent and is vastly overrated as an artist.