Under Fire (1983)
Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 128 minuten
Alternative title: In de Vuurlinie
Country:
United States
Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode
Stars: Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman and Joanna Cassidy
IMDb score:
7,0 (9.601)
Releasedate: 21 October 1983
Under Fire plot
"This wasn't their war but it was their story... and they wouldn't let it go!"
Nicaragua 1979: Photographer Russel Price reports on the civil war against President Somoza. It takes Russell a lot of effort to stay neutral. At one point, Russel takes a photo of the resistance leader and the army is hunting him. Together with his friends Claire and Alex, Russell tries to stay out of the hands of the army.
Actors and actresses
Russell Price
Alex Grazier
Claire
Oates
Marcel Jazy
Hub Kittle
Isela
President Anastasio Somoza
Regis Seydor
Miss Panama
Reviews & comments
Movsin
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- 8286 messages
- 8441 votes
Mediocre, and in any case below the level of several films (example "Missing") that were made, also at that time, with coups d'état and associated violence and chaos, in Central and South American States or in Africa, as subject.
This reads more like an adventure film, nothing more, although with a few errors in the script.
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13232 messages
- 11124 votes
An excellent film about a war photographer who travels from war to war. It vividly illustrates the challenges of maintaining a neutral position as a journalist in a civil war. Despite being shot in Mexico (and not Nicaragua, where the story takes place), the film feels realistic. The love triangle is also well-crafted and, thanks in part to the excellent cast, is perfectly executed.
Translated from Dutch · View original
blurp194
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- 5543 messages
- 4226 votes
There are actually quite a few films about war journalists.
Most of them deal with the kind of obvious false romance that comes with it. But a small portion also reveals something of the underlying conflict, thus bridging the gap to the founding father of war reporting, Ernest Hemingway. This is such a film, though it does verge a bit with its romantic sub-motif and the almost inappropriate running gag of Ed Harris as a military advisor cough CIA cough mercenary.
The story is a bit embellished, but there's a kernel of truth to it. Things happen this way, what you want to achieve isn't always what happens, and it's an illusion to be independent and impartial in this kind of conflict. And it's equally clear that a journalist is never safe—and frankly, I don't think he ever has been. After all, Hemingway was just a soldier in most of the conflicts he covered. In WWII, the laws of war as we now consider them barely existed, and in all conflicts since then, they've been cheerfully ignored by at least one of the fighting parties.
As a film, it's absolutely a masterpiece, and it boasts a top-notch cast—and even then, Nolte stands out with playful ease. His work is convincing; it all just works. Just like the ever-cheerful Harris, his reprehensible character, fits. It's a shame that Hackman doesn't seem to truly shine, although that's partly a consequence of his role as the lagging party in the triangular motif.
But there's more, because there's also that old, rotten Gitanes-smoking Frenchman who, with his continental cynicism, can justify everything. And however awful, he has a point, although that should never be a reason to abandon your ideals.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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