Vietnam Through Film

"Vietnam at the time was no bigger than a man's fist on the horizon. We hardly discussed it because it was not worth discussing." –Jack Valenti

Valenti was the President of the Motion Picture Association of America. He worked closely with President Lyndon B. Johnson. At first, the war wasn’t a priority to Johnson. It didn’t fit in with his “Great Society”. Despite this, things didn’t stay that way.  When one thinks of the 70’s, it cannot go without saying that the Vietnam war if the biggest event of the whole decade for America.

            The War ended in 1975. It was America’s healing abrasion, years after we still weren’t fully recovered. 1.1 million died and 600,000 were wounded. The film industry tread unlevel ground making movies about it. So it wasn’t until the late seventies that movies started to come out. One of the first films was The Deer Hunter (1978). It featured Robert De Niro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken. It explained the trials the three small town steel workers went through during the war and how it affected them when they came home. The movie is known for comparing the war to “home life”. The title comes from the three’s favorite hobby, hunting. They always make analogies in the war to shooting deer. Nick says,

            “I don't think about that much with one shot anymore, Mike.“ Michael replies,

            “You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about. A deer's gotta be taken with one shot.” The most famous scene is one where “Charlie” catches the three. They are forced to play Russian roulette with each other. They outwit the enemy and escape.

            In the next year Apocalypse Now (1979) is created.            After some conversation, Francis Ford Coppola is chosen to direct the film. Originally he was to be the assistant director and George Lucas was going to direct it but he couldn’t because he was busy with Star Wars (1977). It is based off of Joseph Conrad’s, Heart Of Darkness. Conrad depicted war as primal madness. Like Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now relates to the home front. After bombing a small Vietnam village with napalm, some of the men end the day surfing along the coast. They specifically bombed the village to get to a good surf spot. Robert Duvall plays the controversial, crazed, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore. After the battle Kilgore orders his men to surf. Willard asks,

             “Are you crazy God dammit? Don't you think it’s a little risky for some R&R? “ Kilgore replies, 

            “If I say it’s safe to surf this beach Captain, then its safe to surf this beach. I mean I'm not afraid to surf this place, I'll surf this whole fucking place!“ A couple minutes later Kilgore states,

            “Smell that? You smell that?”

            “What?” Lance answers,

            “Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like victory. Someday this war's gonna end... “

            In the 80’s more films followed. Two well-known ones are Platoon (1986), and Full Metal Jacket (1987). Platoon is Oliver Stone’s “brutally realistic” outlook on a soldiers experience in ‘Nam. Charlie Sheen plays a college student who enters the war. Sheen is part of a racially divided platoon. It teaches him about other races and teaches him about the kind of people who entered the war, those who were poor and uneducated. They had nothing at home to loose so the entered to go across the world and kill. Stanley Kubrick directed Full Metal Jacket. Like Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket is based off of a book, Gustav Hasford’s The Short Timers. On the cover of the movie is an army helmet depicting a peace sign next to the words, “born to kill.” It deals with Marine volunteers. Half of the story just takes place at the training camp under the harsh view of Sgt. Hartman.

            All of the movies have in common the connection between life at war and life at home. It was America’s first “television war”. Everyone wanted to know what was happening and that was hard just because there was so much propaganda going around that no one could tell what was true. It was also a war that focused on the mental after affects the soldiers experienced. People who hadn’t been overseas themselves relied on the likes of Cimino, Coppola, Stone and Kubrick to show them the horrifying event. 

Pierrot Le Fou (1965)

Jean Luc Godard is possibly my favorite filmmaker ever. He just has this style to his movies that is so original. Godard is a french director most famous for Breathless (also known as À bout de souffle.) Jean-Paul Belmondo stars in both. Breathless was made five years earlier. I think most people would characterize Godard as artsy. Too artsy for most people. He implements alot of color and repitition. His use of metaphors sometimes confuse from the plot but if you can understand the plot it is easy to see the depth in Godard's films. Pierrot Le Fou is about Ferdinand, a man in an unhappy marrige. He searches for meaning in his life and can't find any. One night he goes out with his wife and their friends. talking to them and the other people at the party they go to exhausts him. He returns home to find the babysitter, a woman he has had a past relationship with. The babysitter is played by Anna Karina. Her character, Marianna Renoir, and Ferdinand run off together.Throughout the movie Marianna calls Ferdinand Pete. He keeps reminding her yet she persists that is his name. Hence the title, Pierrot Le Fou, which means Crazy Pete. They run off, steal cars, and kill people in order to have enough money to live off of. The plot is similar to that of Bonnie and Clyde, (1967) in fact, Godard alsmot directed Bonnie and Clyde. Both films have a "heroic villain" theme. The protagonists are lovable people so the audience learns to love them except they do horrible and disturbing crimes. Another theme I have seen in a two of Godard's movies is a close up shot but full bleed. You can only see the sheet of paper someone is writting on, not the majority of the hand that is writting or the edges of the paper. It is shown in Pierrot as Ferdinand writes in his journal and in Tout Va Bien (1972) where the characters are talking and writing on sheets of paper talking about what it takes to make a movie. Godard also favors off camera voice shots. where you see a scene but the voice talking doesn't show up on the screen. I'm going to refrain from writing more because I can go on about Jean Luc Godard forever.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

This next film represents me more then my belief in its cinematic value, the perfect movie for a hopeless romantic. It is beautifully made including lots of symmetry and parallel shots. I liked how much the movie was consistent with the novel, a crime committed regularly now a days. Joe Wright, the director, did a beautiful job showing Austen's witty banter. I also agree with his casting decisions. Kiera Knightly does a great job playing Elizabeth. Rosamund Pike, Jane, was a graceful choice also. Judi Dench was perfect for the role of Lady Catherine. Last but not least, the soundtrack. Incredible, impeccable in every way. The piece they chose works seamlessly with the story line. It can easily be played in variations to show the mood of the movie. My favorite part if the setting. In the end of the movie when Lizzy confesses her love for Mr. Darcy they are walking in a field in the early morning. Film makers call this time "the golden hour." The sun is dazzling, shedding an ethereal light on everything it touches. 

Mio fratello è figlio unico "My Brother is an Only Child" (2007)

It irks me how people shy away from foreign films. I believe they are better then native ones. I watched My Brother is an Only Child last night. It was an interesting movie that reflected Italian life in the 60's and 70's. The Main character is name Accio, which translates as "bully". The most intricate relationship is that of Accio and his brother and sister. Both of his older siblings are communists while Accio is a Fascist. It gave me perspective into the politics in Italy in the 60's and 70's. My criticism is that the movie lacked plot. i don't know if this is understandable but it was one of the ones where you watch a person live his/her life of a period of time. But don't get me wrong, it was still entertaining to watch. My favorite scene was where Accio went to a communist rally where his sister (who plays cello) performed Beethoven in an orchestra. The rally leaders changed the words to make them communist. This including adding alot of names of communist leaders like Stalin. In another scene Accio is talking to his good friend and mentor. This friend preaches about America being nothing, "All they do is build skyscrapers." His friend also says that the Italians go with whoever is winning. This quote reflects Italy's doings in the second world war.

Yojimbo (1961)

Yojimbo is one of the best movies i have ever seen.It was made by the great director Akira Kurosawa in 1961. It takes place in a small town in Japan. The conflict is that there is grudge between two different gangs. The violence is so harsh that everyone leaves except for the innkeeper, the town gossip, the prostitutes, and the coffin maker (who is the only one doing well in business) Kurosawa chose a soundtrack filled with harsh percussion. the simplistic music adds a cocky, sassy feel to the film. the story is about a traveling warrior, a Ronin. In ancient Japan Ronin were samurais who would travel looking for work. (the olden days rent-a-cop) This man's name is never revealed. He shows his skill but promptly cutting off a mans arm with one slash of his sword. then he settles down in the town inn, waiting as the two fighting houses bid for his services. The mystery samurai ends up with the best profit of everyone. It was such a well made movie that American film makers decided to bring it to the western world. Kurosawa gave permission to remake it as an adult wester called Fistful Of Dollars starring Clint Eastwood.