The damned of the war

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Movie
German title The damned of the war
Original title Casualties of War
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 109 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Brian De Palma
script David raven
production Kind Linson
music Ennio Morricone
camera Stephen H. Burum
cut Bill Pankow
occupation

The damned of war (original title: Casualties of War ) is an American drama about the Vietnam War from 1989 . Directed by Brian De Palma , the script was written by David Rabe based on the book Incident on Hill 192 by Daniel Lang . The main role was played by Michael J. Fox .

action

At the beginning a text is shown, according to which the film is based on a true story that Daniel Lang first described in a magazine in 1969.

Eriksson is sitting in a light rail train . He nods briefly, starts up, looks around. His gaze falls on a woman with Asian features who have just gotten on board, as well as a man reading a newspaper with a headline announcing Richard Nixon's resignation . Eriksson remembers events in the past shown in a flashback .

PFC Eriksson served in a unit on patrol during the Vietnam War in 1969 . The men are shot at by the Viet Cong with mortars . Eriksson breaks into a tunnel , his body is stuck underground. A Vietnamese approaches Eriksson underground through the tunnel with a knife between his teeth. Eriksson's superior " Sarge " Meserve pulls him out and thus saves his life.

Eriksson appears to be a sensitive character , as he gratefully accepts food offered by Vietnamese that he actually does not like. He tells his comrades that he does not want to appear rude, but only earns incomprehension and ridicule . Meserve's unit is ambushed in a village, Specialist Corporal Brown is badly wounded and flown out in a helicopter . In the evening, the comrades learn that he did not survive.

The soldiers are ordered to make a reconnaissance tour the following morning - shooting is only allowed for defense . In the evening they want to leave the camp again and have fun, but going into the village is forbidden due to the Viet Cong activities. Meserve suggests that the unit's soldiers move out an hour early the next morning and kidnap some Vietnamese girl for sexual abuse . Eriksson is shocked to hear that. He tells PFC Rowan, a trusted comrade in another unit.

The next morning, the group raids a village a little way off their patrol. The young Vietnamese woman Tran Thi Oanh is kidnapped, her crying and screaming family members are left behind. Eriksson has a great disgust. As he leaves, he helplessly asks the villagers to apologize. The soldiers drag the woman with them. Eriksson tells Meserve that what they are doing is a crime , but Meserve harshly rejects him and later apologizes before threatening him. PFC Diaz, who was only assigned to the unit that morning, shared his concerns with Eriksson. He, too, decides not to participate in the rape and both assure each other that they will cover each other.

When they reach an abandoned hut, the men set up camp and Meserve begins to molest the prisoner. He divides a sequence and Diaz has to go to the hut next - unlike Eriksson, he complies after Eriksson refuses. Although the viewer is spared further scenes, it becomes clear that Hatcher and Clark also participate, because they argue who will be the last (which Clark clarifies once more with reference to his status as "superior"). Eriksson refuses to participate in the rape, even though his comrades abuse and threaten him because of it, and moves away.

The soldiers later set up an advanced observation post. There, from a hiding place on a railway line on the mountain, they observe activities of Vietnamese on the lower river bank. Meserve sends for reinforcements by radio and sends Eriksson back to the hut to get weapons . Against Meserve's express orders, Cpl insists . Clark, who has no desire to guard the prisoner, acts as Eriksson's "superior" to ensure that he stays with the woman. Eriksson tries to help the badly injured prisoner escape. Completely intimidated, however, she does not dare to go alone. Eriksson, who initially wanted to accompany her, however, gets scruples when he realizes that this would make him a deserter . You are surprised by the returned Clark and taken to the forward post.

There they watch a boat land on the bank and weapons being unloaded. They must fear that Tran Thi Oanh, who is coughing, may give her position away. Meserve orders that Eriksson should stab the woman, but the private refuses. He tries to convince Meserve that the dead Corporal Brown would not have approved of such acts either - to no avail. Cpl. Clark is ready to do it, but Meserve calls on Hatcher, who also refuses. He then orders young Diaz, who reluctantly approaches the woman with the knife. So that there is no longer an excuse to murder the woman, Eriksson opens fire on the boats on the river, and a battle ensues. Nevertheless, Tran Thi Oanh is stabbed to death by Clark. When she gets up and tries to flee in a daze, Meserve gives the order to shoot her. Eriksson tries to intervene, but Meserve rams the butt of the rifle into his stomach. Tran Thi Oanh is shot dead by Clark, Hatcher, Diaz and Meserve while Eriksson is injured on the ground. American helicopters finally approach and fire on the Viet Cong on the riverbank. Finally, the injured Eriksson is flown out.

Back at the camp, Eriksson is afraid of going on the next assignment with the others. He fears for his life. PFC Rowan encourages him to report the case. Eriksson reports his comrades, but his superior Lt. Reilly does not want to pursue the matter vigorously. Reilly only suggests that the group be split up, but then reports the case to his superior, Captain Hill. He suggests that Eriksson move him to a more pleasant place if he remains silent. An investigation could no longer help the girl, it could even trigger an international crisis. He berates Eriksson for accusing Meserve who saved his life. He is still a child, barely older than 20. He even suggests to Eriksson that he should worry about his family because of possible acts of revenge by the convicted after a short imprisonment.

The following night, a hand grenade is attacked on Eriksson in the latrine , but the private notices the grenade at the last second and survives. Angry, he goes into the barracks and knocks down Clark, who is sitting in the group, with a shovel. He announced that they could stop killing him, that he had told everyone about the case, but that no one would do anything. Meserve calls him crazy in Vietnamese.

Eriksson gets drunk in the bar, where he confides in a military chaplain . An official investigation of the case follows. The following sequence shows excerpts from the interrogation of the perpetrators before a court martial . Found guilty and sentenced to prison terms and forced labor at Fort Leavenworth Military Prison , Kansas; eight years for Diaz (for rape and manslaughter ), 15 years for Hatcher (for rape), life for Clark (for rape and premeditated murder), and 10 years for Meserve (for manslaughter).

At the end of the film you see the opening shot again: Eriksson is sitting in the light rail train. He wakes up again and his gaze falls again on the young Vietnamese woman who was already sitting there at the beginning. He looks out the window for a moment. The woman is gone, got out. Since she has forgotten a scarf, he follows her and speaks to her. She asks: “Do I remind you of someone? You had a bad dream, didn't you? "He:" Yes. "She:" It's over now, I think. "

The credits announce that Hatcher's verdict was overturned on constitutional grounds after he revoked his confession .

Reviews

The lexicon of international films wrote that the film based on an authentic case was partly “oppressive” and partly “sensational”. He speaks more to the emotions than to the mind, which prevents his "possible critical intentions".

Awards

The film won the Political Film Society Award for Peace in 1990 .

Ennio Morricone was nominated for the Golden Globe Award in 1990 for film music . Maurice Schell was nominated for the Motion Picture Sound Editors Award ( Golden Reel Award ) in 1990 for sound editing .

backgrounds

  • The rights holder is Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (1989). Filming began on April 7, 1988.
  • Production costs were estimated at 22.5 million dollars . The film grossed approximately $ 18.67 million in US cinemas. There were over 104,000 moviegoers in Germany.
  • The same material was used in the controversial German feature film ok by Michael Verhoeven as early as 1970 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for The Damned of War . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , February 2006 (PDF; test number: 63 175 DVD).
  2. ↑ The damned of war. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used