Francis Coppola is a well-known director for his critically acclaimed and best work of all time “The Godfather.” But, he is also known for this dark and gloomy Vietnam War film “Apocalypse Now.” This movie came out three years later after the war was over, which lasted for twenty years. Based on Joseph Conrad's novella “Heart of Darkness,” comes this film which is not centered on the cruel violence in the war, but on the insanity that war can create on victim soldiers. |
The
film is about a mission given to a disturbed captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen) to find and terminate the once patronized Colonel
Kurtz (played by Marlon Brandon)
during the Vietnam War, because he has become insane and is worshipped as a god
by the Vietnamese.
Although the film does touch minimally on the subject of prostitution and the frequent violence the American army caused to Vietnamese, its focus is on the psychological damages that war can produce to the human identity. There is a lot of symbolism in this film which help describe what the mind of the character is going through.
Although the film does touch minimally on the subject of prostitution and the frequent violence the American army caused to Vietnamese, its focus is on the psychological damages that war can produce to the human identity. There is a lot of symbolism in this film which help describe what the mind of the character is going through.
Take
Martin Sheen’s character for example:
He once used to have a normal life, but because of the traumatic experiences in
Vietnam all he ever lives for now on is the war. He dreams about war, all he
hears in his mind is about war, all he sees is war were ever he goes. His
former normal life became bland, morality went out of the window, and war became
his true home, but he does not show he loves it. On his way to the mission, he
reads the background story of the now demented Colonel Kurtz and admires the
man, when others see him as a corrupted man. Firstly, he admires him not
because he was a former good patriotic hero, but because he was a man of war.
Since life made no longer sense to Willard, he admires the accomplishments the
Colonel did on the field of war. Secondly, the Colonel lost his mind and his
identity, and Willard was on that same path to insanity and losing his identity.
I could see there was such a strong connection between these characters, even
when they were far away from each other. So for Willard to meet this intriguing
man is as if a kid would meet his admirable hero, and that is what he would
have probably seen on him, a hero. He would not stop on nothing or for no one to
fulfil the mission, even if it meant sacrificing the crew, because I think he
could understand the motivations of the Colonel as the other people did not
understand since they were noble humans. And once he meets him, is like a
religious experience.
The
title of the film “Apocalypse Now” means revelation. On this mission Willard
was going to not just find Colonel Kurtz, but to find a reveling truth that
would hunt him for the rest of his life. Colonel’s insanity starts to affect
Willard, making him doubt even more what was right from the beginning. Making
him doubt if he has being fighting the war with the wrong people. Evidentially,
I believe he might of thought of that since during his quest, the trip became
darker every step of the way and possibly making Willard into a worse person than
before and ending as a friend of “horror,” just like the Colonel Kurtz. They
have both seen the evil that the war has brought. And all those boundaries that
drew a line to morality were erased once it was time to fight and kill other
nations because of men’s greed. Once Kurtz realized that, he snapped and joined
the other side to fight what was preached to be a loving, free country when it
was all a lie. Maybe that is the awful revelation Willard encountered. The film
lives with plenty of suspense if whether is Willard going to kill Colonel Kurtz
or not. That is the trilling question in the whole movie. Will Willard let him
live or will he join his cult and start a new twisted identity?
Also
the film includes young future actors such as Harrison Ford (known for his “Star Wars” role) and Laurence
Fishburne whose career was later launched after this film. It also includes Robert Duvall as the Lieutenant Colonel
who loves smell of powder in the morning.
It was reported that there was problems during the filming. Martin
Sheen suffered a heart attack, the film was behind schedule for its
release, sets were unintentionally destroyed, and the director Coppola was displeased with the actor Marlon Brandon for showing up overweight
and unprepared for the set. Marlon Brandon only shows up for a few
minutes in the last Act, but even that is enough to make an impact, showing how
psychologically twisted this character’s
mind has become and what an influence he became to many people, for the
wrong reasons.
Despite the odds against them, it paid-off. “Apocalypse Now” was well received by critics and it’s among the classic films of all time, and it is well-deserved. It is dark, quiet, loud, violent, and a well portrait story with great cinematography, great characters and a well-done atmosphere that makes the war look like some kind of art and the mental struggle between soldiers if they survive the war, will they also survive home when they get there? I have not seen many war movies to call “Apocalypse Now” the greatest war movie ever as many say. But it is indeed a good film.
I give it 8.7 out of 10*
Despite the odds against them, it paid-off. “Apocalypse Now” was well received by critics and it’s among the classic films of all time, and it is well-deserved. It is dark, quiet, loud, violent, and a well portrait story with great cinematography, great characters and a well-done atmosphere that makes the war look like some kind of art and the mental struggle between soldiers if they survive the war, will they also survive home when they get there? I have not seen many war movies to call “Apocalypse Now” the greatest war movie ever as many say. But it is indeed a good film.
I give it 8.7 out of 10*