Air America (film)

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Movie
German title Air America
Original title Air America
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1990
length 108 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Roger Spottiswoode
script John Eskow ,
Richard Rush
production Daniel Melnick
music Charles Gross
camera Roger Deakins
cut John Bloom ,
Lois Freeman-Fox
occupation

Air America is an American comedy film of 1990 with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Junior .

action

Gene Ryack and Billy Covington worked for Air America as pilots in Laos during the Vietnam War in 1969 . In fact, it is a front company of the CIA . Billy previously worked for a radio station in Los Angeles , but this fired him because of his misconduct. He is then hired by Air America.

It turns out that with the planes and the support of the Lao General Lu Soong, drugs are being smuggled in so that the general can finance his soldiers. When US Senator Davenport comes to visit, Lemond, the head of the airline, asks the general to suspend drug deals for a few days. Lu Soong refuses. Davenport demands that the guilty be found and punished.

When Billy was carrying groceries, he was shot at and had to make an emergency landing. General Lu Soong lands on another plane, but he doesn't want to save Billy and his helpers, he just lets the packages with the drugs reload into his plane and take off. Gene only appears later and saves his colleagues just before the enemy troops approach.

The hardened Gene is informed about the machinations of the CIA and is involved in arms-pushing himself in order to secure his future. Young Billy is shocked by these deals and tries to thwart the secret operation of the CIA and the Laotian army. He blows up Lu Soong's laboratory with a couple of hand grenades. The next day, Gene tells him that this will only keep the laboratory running for a few hours.

When the CIA and the Laotians finally want to get rid of Billy and set him a trap, Billy recognizes it and escapes through a forced emergency landing. Gene picks up Billy and his co-pilot on his last flight to close his gun deals.

On the way, they learn that a nearby refugee camp is in the crossfire of the general and enemy troops. Gene now has to decide whether to take his valuable cargo with him or to evacuate the refugees. Under the influence of the idealistic Billy, Gene decides to help people in their plight.

On site, he unloads the aircraft and dispenses with his accumulated weapons intended for sale. In the plane he then decides to sell the plane borrowed from Air America together with Billy and to compensate for his loss with the profit made in this way.

criticism

“Elaborately designed adventure film that creates a chaotic microcosm in which values ​​are turned upside down and are reduced to absurdity by corrupt politics. The material is becoming less explosive because the film too often appeals to itself as a hearty male adventure. "

- Lexicon of international film

particularities

  • The film was shot for the most part in the then largely untouched mountainous jungle landscape of the Mae Hong Son area , in the Thai - Burmese border region.
  • The airline Air America, which the film uses to hook its story, is not an invention. It was actually one of several front companies of the CIA during the Vietnam War, which, among other things, provided the logistics for arms and drug deals between Laos and Pakistan.
  • In addition to the large Fairchild C-123 , Swiss Pilatus PC-6 aircraft play an important role on the short runways .

Awards

The film was nominated for the Political Film Society Award in 1991 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release to Air America . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2012 (PDF; test number: 64 950 V).
  2. ^ Air America. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ^ Locations in the Internet Movie Database