Casualties of War

source: Casualties of War

CASUALTIES OF WAR Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision) Sound format: 6-track Dolby Stereo (35mm and 70mm release prints) During a routine field trip at the height of the Vietnam War, a young soldier (Michael J. Fox) rebels against his commanding officer (Sean Penn) and other members of his patrol when they kidnap a defenceless Vietnamese girl (Thuy Thu Le) and subject her to a terrifying physical ordeal. Unfairly overshadowed by the simultaneous theatrical release of Oliver Stone's pompous - but still impressive - BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989), Brian DePalma's CASUALTIES OF WAR recreates a harrowing incident from the Vietnam conflict - first reported in 'New Yorker' magazine in 1969 - in which a group of otherwise decent men succumbed to their own worst impulses and committed a terrible crime. Filmed with typical cinematic bravado by master craftsman DePalma, the movie uses every inch of the scope frame to convey both the duality of the landscape (vast swathes of breathtaking countryside, where sudden death lurks around every corner) and the moral vacuum which stretches the two central characters (Fox and Penn) to breaking point. Crafted with blistering simplicity by screenwriter David Rabe (himself a Vietnam veteran and author of the acclaimed stageplay 'Streamers'), the soldiers are depicted as brave individuals whose principles are shattered by their traumatic combat experiences, leaving Fox to essay the role of peacemaker in a world where all the rules have been turned upside down. Thuy - a model with no prior acting experience - is truly heartbreaking as the soldiers' terrified prisoner, and her ultimate fate is so horrific (arguably the most disturbing set-piece of this director's entire career), many viewers will be too appalled to see the film through to its inevitable conclusion. All in all, this uncompromising drama emerges as one of DePalma's strongest films to date.

"Casualties of War" is based on a horrifying true accident which took place in 1966.Some American soldiers abducted a teen-age Vietnamese girl and dragged her on a long-range reconnaissance mission.They tortured,raped and finally murdered her.Michael J.Fox is excellent as a the only soldier in the platoon who tries to stop the violent crime.Thuy Thu Le is also impressive as the victim-her performance is so convincing that I'm surprised that she hasn't appeared in the other movies.The rape/murder scene is among the most heart-breaking sequences ever captured on screen.The film is well-directed by Brian De Palma("Sisters","Carrie","Dressed to Kill")and it delivers the message which tells the viewer that war is hell and can turn young men into monsters.A must-see for fans of disturbing and thought-provoking cinema.

Max Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is a Vietnam vet haunted by an incident during the war. Sgt. Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) leads a squad of five soldiers. He's hard-nosed and then his longtime friend gets hit. Eriksson is still considered cherry. PFC Diaz (John Leguizamo) is the new replacement. Along with Cpl. Clark (Don Harvey) and PFC Hatcher (John C. Reilly), the group kidnaps a village girl and rapes her. I have some problems with the realism of the look. It's the way director Brian De Palma shoots some of the action. At least twice, he uses the background to show action while in the foreground a character looks forward. It's a very manufactured look and takes away from the realism that this movie desperately needs. MJF does the ethical naive jittery newbie but something about him strikes me unrealistic. He's not up to the drama. It's not gritty enough. I feel it would be more intense if he kept more quiet. The character needs to have some more internal conflict. On the other, Sean Penn nails it as the disturbed leader of the squad. But that just emphasized the lack of drama acting coming from MJF.

Casualties Of War is a great Brian De Palma film. Sure it's not his best work but it is intense and suspenseful storytelling. The cast is good. Michael J. Fox was a surprise to say the least in this movie. I didn't think he would hold his own with Sean Penn. Fox more than holds his own, I believe he overshadows Penn. This would not be the case if Sean Penn wasn't overacting so much. He is all over the place with his character. De Palma continues to be one of the great stylist of modern cinema.

CASUALTIES OF WAR tells the excruciating true story of a squad of American soldiers during the Vietnam War, who kidnap and rape a young Vietnamese girl in the name of fun. The story is told through the youthful and innocent eyes of Michael J. Fox, in a rare dramatic performance that may be his career-best. Films like this can hardly be enjoyed, but CASUALTIES OF WAR proves to be unmissable entertainment and one of the harshest war stories out there; also, one of the best. It's a bit like watching a film of a train wreck, where you can't tear yourself away from what's happening and what you know is going to happen. The tragic, soul-searing story is one of the most moving I've ever seen. A film like this needs a great director to tell it, and de Palma is that director. He wisely lets the story tell itself for the most part, but he can't resist incorporating a couple of flourishes (like the POV sequence) that remind us of his skill as an auteur. The cast is great, too, particularly the newbie actors (John C. Reilly and John Leguizano) playing soldiers and Sean Penn as the hateful sergeant. Understandably, Thuy Thu Le has the toughest role, and it's one she walks away from with her head held high; if ever an actress deserved an Oscar nod, it's her.

While not as good a Vietnam movie as Platoon or Apocalypse Now, Casualties of War nevertheless delivers the emotional punch through DePalma's depiction of how war can truly bring out the worst in people. Similar in content to the village massacre scene of Platoon, Casualties actually hits home with greater force the horrific conduct and depravity of how low these GIs had been morally reduced to. You almost cringe at certain scenes such as Corporal Clark's callous crooning of The Door's "Hello, I love you" while escorting their victim on the march. By being able to fully empathize with Erikson, we feel appauled and helpless as we witness his uncontrolable situation, and can't but help feel a bitter satisfaction when he lays into one of the soldiers with a shovel back at base camp. I felt angry and depressed at how any human being could act the way these soldiers did, and was haunted long after the movie's conclusion. Based on a true story, we realize the true tragedy of what has occurred at the movie's end, when Erikson returns to the present from his flashback and the girl suggets that he had had a "bad dream". The painful reality is that it wasn't just a dream, anymore than the whole Vietnam War was. DePalma examines in great depth not just the ethics concerning warfare, but the values of right and wrong & good and evil, which every single one of us on this planet faces. Just as in Platoon with Charlie Sheen's concluding helicopter voiceover, and Saving Private Ryan's portrayal of the aged Ryan asking his wife "have I been a good man, have I led a good life?", Casualties of War highlights a similar concept when Erikson states that one should never abandon their sense of morality-to cease caring- just because they are surrounded by the possibility of death. Overall you are left with a harrowing feeling that is akin to the likes of having watched Schindler's List or The Killing Fields.

Although I was supposed to join the ranks of soldiers who went to kill or be killed in Vietnam, I was able to slide out of it. Years later this movie was released and whenever I saw it, something inside of me stirred and eventually those stirrings compelled me to travel to Vietnam which I did for the first time in 1999. I was so moved by some of what I saw there and what I experienced that I wound up making 7 round trip flights from West Palm Beach Fla, to Saigon Vietnam and ultimately moved to Vietnam on a full time basis in 2000 and stayed for a couple of years. Had it not been for Michael J Fox and this movie providing that stirring inside my guts, I may have never gone and unanswered questions about Vietnam and the Vietnamese people may have never been answered. I thank everyone involved in this heart wrenching movie for that.

It seems to me that the ultimate moral of this story might be that in war everyone is a casualty in some way, shape or form - even those who are never wounded and stay personally above the brutality. "Casualties Of War" is a depiction of an actual (and sickening) event that was first reported in the New Yorker magazine in 1969 in which a squad of American soldiers kidnap, rape and murder an innocent, young Vietnamese girl. The two main protagonists in the movie are played by Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. Penn is Meserve - the sargeant in command of the squad who develops the plan for the kidnap, rape and murder. He represents one type of casualty - a kid, promoted way beyond his years, in a situation he should never have been in, watching friends and comrades dying on a daily basis, becoming jaded and unfeeling as a result. You feel no sympathy for his character, but you recognize the tragedy of his character - and of the other members of the squad who let themselves be pulled into the plan. Fox, on the other hand, is Eriksson - the squad's conscience. He knows this is wrong, and he refuses to participate, even trying to help the girl escape, only to be derided and ridiculed by the others as either a coward or a homosexual. After the girl is killed, for no real reason, he reports the incident to his superiors, only to hear repeated variations on the theme "let it go. War is war." This is probably Michael J. Fox's most powerful movie role ever - a definite change of pace from the teen-oriented comedies that had made him famous. He's also a casualty, of course - haunted forever by the sickening scene he had witnessed. And of course, there's the real casualty - the young girl dragged out of her home and away from her mother who endures a nightmare before being killed. This is most definitely a powerful, disturbing and brutal movie that definitely makes it point.

Coppola, Stone and Cimino did their best, but the award for best Vietnam movie goes to Brian De Palma. One of the only directors working today who still knows the meaning of 'cinema', De Palma uses all his favorite techniques (the long shots, split-focus)without being intrusive. There are so many fantastic moments in this film, so many images that stay in your mind long after the credits rolled by. Who could forget the death of the girl on that railwaybridge? It's truly one of the most chilling images I've ever seen on screen, also thanks to the haunting score by Ennio Morricone. The acting is fantastic. Sean Penn makes it very easy for you to hate him, John Leguizamo as the pathetic Diaz hits all the right notes, John C. Reilly is wonderful as always. And then there's Michael J. Fox, in a rare dramatic role. As Ericcson, he's the beating heart of this film, the only human creature on screen. His attempts to save the girl are heartbreaking and deeply tragic. It's a mystery why this movie doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Maybe the Americans don't like the way some of their countrymen are portrayed here. Maybe the idea of Marty McFly as G.I. Joe turns some people off. The IMDb rating this movie gets is a joke, albeit not a very funny one. This is one of Brian De Palmas finest movies (it's so hard to choose a favorite he has made so many classics), the best war movie I've ever seen and one of the greatest American movies ever. You simply HAVE to see this!