Platoon (1986)

 

Oof, this one always hits right in the feels. Not only that, but as a kid two things made me want to know a lot more about the Vietnam War. One was the series 'Tour of Duty' (with probably the best music ever) and this one. 

This one does hit the hardest by far. 

Based on director Oliver Stone's very real experiences in Vietnam as a soldier, 'Platoon' tells us the tale of Chris, a young and idealistic youth who volunteers to fight in the Vietnam War because he thinks it is the right thing to do. Right off the bat, he discovers that nothing is as glamorous or righteous as it is presented back home, as many of the troopers have become cynical, crazy or just stoned all the time in order to forget the horrors they have seen. Chris is placed in a platoon with a highly ineffectual lieutenant and two sergeants who are clearly each others opposites: Barnes and Elias. Barnes is a stone cold killer who has become so insensitized to all the violence he can't tell right from wrong anymore. Elias is a kindhearted soul who knows the war is total bullshit but who doesn't really have anything else left for him. 

Things come to blows when the platoon has several encounters, leading up to a brutal slaying of one of their own and they take it out on an innocent village and its people, where Barnes and Elias truly clash. This all culminates in a massive battle, but tensions are extremely high and the cohesion is completely broken. The slow and deliberate deconstruction of what it is to be human is on full display... 

This film does not take sides in the war, as a lot of other films clearly define the US as being the good guys and the Vietcong as bad guys. No, this one does show the US side but throughout it all only one thought prevails: war is actual hell. Not just for these guys, but for everyone involved except of course the policy makers and leadership who couldn't give a rat's arse about the kids sent out to die for their country for no particular reason. Chris is our Everyman, our portal into this insane situation where the enemy often comes from within, not without. 

The dialogue is snappy, the actors are all most excellent and most important of all: they feel like real people. Probably because they are, as Stone lived through stuff like this. It's that added sense of realism that makes everything more palpable and emotional. 

Fair enough: the addition of Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' as theme helps, as it is one of those melodies that will automatically conjure images of loss, sadness and despair. 

And the main image, which is that of Willem Dafoe reaching for the heavens after having been abandoned and shot to pieces is seared into anyone's brain who has ever watched this. 

Maybe some would argue this isn't the best Vietnam-film out there but to me it is. It is one of those masterpieces everyone should have seen.