Apocalypse Now is not a film for those with a low tolerance for violence and gore. It is filled to the brim with dark motifs that can chill a person to the core. As it deals with the harsh psychological damage that Vietnam can cause, it is no surprise that director Francis Ford Coppola made it such a grim, depressing film.
Starring Martin Sheen, this film takes an intense look at the damages that a tour in Vietnam could cause, and what right and wrong really are.
The movie takes a harsh, though not unjustified look at soldiers in Vietnam and how they acted. In one scene, they open fire on a boat because a woman reached for her puppy. Some of the Commanders even wanted to decimate whole villages to get a good surf. At one point, Sheen’s character encounters an area where the soldiers have no idea who their leader was, and just blindly opened fire where they thought the enemy was.
The acting in the movie was incredible. Sheen played Captain Benjamin Willard, a man with severe PTSD, who is given a mission to kill a rogue soldier, Colonel Walter Kurtz. Kurtz appears to have gone crazy, but Willard, whose mental state is also not exactly stable, seems to be connecting to Kurtz as he gets closer and closer to finding him.
The psychological side of the movie is fascinating, as it questions what is truly right and wrong, and what insanity really is.
As was mentioned before, the acting of the film was part of what made it such an interesting film to watch. Martin Sheen put his heart and soul into the film, and very convincingly played a man with nothing left to lose. His body and mind were strained to their limits, and Sheen paid for it with a heart attack during the filming. His smooth voice overs during many of the scenes cast a sombre, chilling mood upon the film that amplified the meaning behind everything that was happening. Sheen had to show a man with a mission that could not be delayed, and there was no man better for the role.
Each of the actors who played one of the crew on the boat added to the plot and story in an interesting, and sometimes humourous way. They all represented a different attitude reasoning behind going to Vietnam. For example, two of the men on the boat were African-American, and many of the men in Vietnam were conscripted from low-income areas. This is also seen through Chef, one of the men who claimed that he didn’t even graduate the 8th grade. Such men were very common in Vietnam, and part of the reason why the American soldiers there were not especially happy. There was another man, Lance B. Johnson, who represented a totally different viewpoint of an American soldier in Vietnam. He spent most of his time hopped up on acid, and floated through the battles with minor injuries. When Kilgore realized who he was, he became intent on discussing surfing with him rather than focus on the battle. Lance remained blissfully arrogant throughout the film, and managed to stumble out of it alive. Each man played his role expertly, and was very successful in portraying their character’s position in the film.
While Marlon Brando did a good job in portraying his role as Kurtz, his actions and behaviour led them to need to change his character and the script around, though parts of it did work. For example, due to his increase in weight, his face would not be allowed to be visible, since Kurtz was not supposed to share those attributes. Thereby, his face was covered in shadows, which actually added to Kurtz’s enigmatic nature. It is small things such as that which, although Brando messed up on, in fact added to the film.
The darkness in Apocalypse Now was very important in the tone of the film. Throughout, there is almost no light whatsoever. It is a great reflection of Willard’s personal darkness and turmoil, as well as the mood of the soldiers in Vietnam. The constant darkness added a depressing mood to the film that was exacerbated by the acting as well.
This film was an excellent depiction of the chaos and confusion that was Vietnam. While some say pro-war, and some say anti-war, really this film is about the good and the bad that people find in war.
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