Casualties of War (1989)
Genre: War / Drama
Duration: 113 minuten / 120 minuten (extended cut)
Country:
United States
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Stars: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn and John C. Reilly
IMDb score:
7,1 (52.335)
Releasedate: 18 August 1989
Casualties of War plot
"Even in war… murder is murder."
America is at war with Vietnam. After one of their comrades is murdered, and they are refused entry to a local village with attached brothels, a group of American soldiers is stopped. They kidnap a girl from her village to rape her in the jungle. One of them finds this morally inappropriate and rebels.
Actors and actresses
Private Eriksson
Sgt. Tony Meserve
Cpl. Thomas E. Clark
Private Herbert Hatcher
Private Antonio Diaz
Lt. Reilly
Oanh
Brown
Rowan
Sgt. Hawthorne
Reviews & comments
Insignificance
-
- 3220 messages
- 5589 votes
The Palma in the jungle. It's definitely not the best turn. Only twice that he lets himself be spoken of. The tunnel and around the latrine. What he builds around it seems like an excellent opportunity to delve into the psyche of the soldier, something that should suit him, but not much comes of it. It's an oversimplification of a horrible incident.
Much of that can be traced back to the group of soldiers who have to carry the film. A bunch of fools that you can quickly gauge and that has no other smell or taste. Fox must be the bitten dog, it certainly isn't the happiest choice, but what Penn is doing here really doesn't look like anything. So thick that it becomes more and more a laughable display.
Meanwhile, Fox doesn't get much help from the screenplay either. From naive rookie to the harsh reality of war and that in a straight line. I don't believe it and so it is all together far too transparent to go along with it. Before the girl comes into play, the film is already struggling. Even then, such a rape cuts in, but the cement between the stones is completely missing.
Not much more can be made of the mutual confrontations than obligatory scheming. Then that scene on the bridge doesn't want to come off anymore. Not the only thing that sticks. When Eriksson, with silky music, tells you how it is, it even bends your toes for a while and how that nerve tendon with the booby trap made it to the war and the film is a mystery. It's a shrug towards the credits.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Alathir
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- 2155 messages
- 1654 votes
Possibly the best Vietnam movie I've seen to date. In any case, I like him better than Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter or Rambo. That's because I always like to be as close to the characters as possible and that was the case here. Moreover, De Palma often convinces with his direction and the music is also more than successful.
Sean Penn really does play an insufferable sergeant here. Of course chapeau for doing so well. In that respect, the Michael J. Fox is easier to replace here with another actor. Not that he's doing badly in the end. The film concerns an issue where I fully supported Michael J. White. What did bother me is the outcome of the lawsuit. Sean Penn certainly earned a life sentence, too. He committed exactly the same crimes as Corporal Clark. It is indeed striking that the lesser reviews for this film despite a good score in general. It gets 4* from me.
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