Breaker Morant
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Movie Reviews of Breaker Morant
Movie Review: Profoundly thought provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
This superbly written, directed and acted movie ranks, in my opinion, with All Quiet on the Western Front and Paths of Glory as a critique of the morality of war. Like them, it casts a jaundiced eye on the dishonesty and cynicism of governments, in this case, the duplicitous scapegoating by the British imperial high command against these unwitting Australian colonial soldiers, aided and abetted by the after the fact complicity of their own government (in this regard, I would question what others on this site have said about this movie dealing with the soldier's accountability for following orders that are immoral, inasmuch as their superiors sought to deny that such orders existed in the first place)However, I believe that this movie transmits a deeper message that the brutality of war inevitably has a brutalizing effect on the souls of those who participate in it even if they are fundamentally decent, honorable human beings, in this case, the protagonist, Breaker Morant, who, though he intially distained to follow the unwritten policy of executing prisoners who were Boer combatants (and perhaps those that aided them as well, such as the German clergyman in this film), was finally moved to an about face in this regard after the trauma of seeing that his best friend and the brother of his fiance had been killed and viciously mutilated by the Boer commandos. Like Oliver Stone's Platoon, this movie displays a post Vietnam, post My Lai sensibility in this respect, but goes deeper in that it does not seek to divide people into good and bad, humane and brutal, as Stone did with the two sergeants, for what is conveyed here is that no one is immune from the corrosion and degradation that the fear and violence of deadly combat inflicts upon the mind and soul.
Strongly recommended!
Movie Review: You Can't Handle the Truth!
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the great movies I saw in the 80's was "Breaker Morant". It was a compelling drama about several Australian soldiers in the Boer War who were tried for the murder of a German missionary. Although they made a case for their actions, they were pawns in the political game and doomed before their trial even began. These points are well-developed by the director Bruce Beresford who co-wrote the script based on a play by Kenneth Ross. It was pretty obvious that this was previously produced on the legitimate stage because the scenes seem exclusively made for smaller sets. I noticed this because, as a war movie, it is limited in action scenes. However, the drama was present throughout in the same sense that it was in "A Few Good Men". The conclusion of the movie is powerful and underscored by a rousing version of "Soldiers of the Queen" as the cast and credits roll on.
When I was a young man I was surprized one day by my grandfather's spontaneous outburst of condemnation against the British. Where was that coming from, I wondered. Then I realized that he was born in The Netherlands in the early 1890's and didn't emigrate to the US until he was 18. He was just old enough to follow the Boer War as a child and have it leave an indelible impression on him. I guess that's another reason I enjoyed "Breaker Morant". Even though it's told from the British perspective, they don't make too many movies about the Boer War.
Movie Review: One of Beresford's best
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen this movie so many times, I can just about quote every line from it. The movie made in South Australia near the town of Burra, is about a group of Australians from the Bush Veldt Carbineers who were Court Martialled for shooting POW's during the Boer War. The movie however has so many flaws as to actually what happened, I can't name them all. Firstly the major point is that the movie shows 3 prisoners being court martialled when in fact there was 4, I don't know why they left out Lt Picton. Witnesses for the defence who stated they were on firing parties were never there. Hancocks alibi for the Hesse murder, the 2 Boer females, actually testified in the proceedings, not sign a Statuary Declaration. There was other charges to which the men were being charged but the movie only stopped at 3. The Boer attck on Pietersburg halfway through the Visser trial, incorrectly portrays the prisoners fighting the Boers from the ground using a machine gun etc, they actually went to the roof and fired from there using rifles. But the favourite quotes are all there "They were shot under Rule 303", "Shoot straight you bastards, don't make a mess of it" etc. However the blemishes mentioned don't wreck the movie, and I'll watch it time and time again as I still totally enjoy it even though I know the real story of the court martial. Get the movie you will love it, Australian film making at it's best.Movie Review: One response to terrorism: see this film!
Summary: 5 Stars
After the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, I watched this film again. I had always enjoyed it, despite its grim theme, having seen Edward Woodward's talents in "Callen" for many years before 1980.One question raised in this film has to do with responses to terrorism. This is, in effect, what the Boers in this area were supposed to be were doing, albeit in a smaller way than recently. How do regular soldiers deal with terrorism? How do you pick the terrorists from the civilians? Who can you trust? How do you control this kind of warfare?
"Apocalypse Now" suggested that one could go over the top with the horror of war, that normal people could do these things. "Breaker Morant" looks at the morality of this, the politics behind it, the consequences for those involved.
In light of the current circumstances in dealing with terrorism, this film is a significant contribution to the dialog. The film doesn't have an answer, but it does ask some blunt questions.
Set almost exactly 100 years before the World Trade Center, Pentagon and PA tragedies, the questions are much the same. British troops have been dealing with it in Northern Ireland for about 30 years and still don't have an answer that eliminates all the terror.
I strongly advise watching this film as part of the current debate on dealing with terrorism.
Movie Review: A Great Historical Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this film incredibly moving. It's nice to see a historical film about the ambiguity and injustice of war set in an era other than Vietnam. War and politics have never been black and white.Aside from the message, this film is well directed and acted. The cast are all outstanding especially Edward Woodward (Breaker Morant) and Jack Thompson (the lawyer, Major Thomas). The film is evenly paced and moves along briskly. The scenery is outstanding and adds so much to the sense of vastness. The costumes and sets are authentic and add great detail. The film quality is a little substandard but not distracting, however with the beautiful cinema-photography I would really like to see a remastered edition. As for extras there are none to speak of.
The story is riveting and is comparable to other courtroom dramas like A Few Good Men. The blatant railroading of the three soliders is frustrating and it's thrilling to see Major Thomas's minor victories. Despite the serious subject matter the film has several humorous moments. The ending is painful and poignant and, like my other favorite Australian war film Gallipoli, honest in it's depiction of the messed up nature of war.