Oct 07, 2003 05:28 PM
2191 Views
(Updated Oct 13, 2003 11:37 PM)
Buffalo soldiers: What's the first thing that comes to your mind? This must be something to do with the American civil war. No not at all. Oh No ! another one of those torturous films glorifying the American Military and raising its heroic status to unfathomable proportions. No not really. What? Surely its not anything to do with Bob Marley? You must be joking.
The truth is that it IS to do with the American army but in such an incriminating way, that if some furious-with-anger army General were to blow up the place where the movie premiere was being held, it wouldn't surprise me one bit.
Director: Gregor Jordan.
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Anna Paquin, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Dean Stockwell, Elizabeth McGovern, Gabriel Mann, Leon Robinson, Sheik Mahmud-Bey, Glenn Fitzgerald, Brian Delate, Dean Stockwell.
Duration: 98 minutes
Content: Not advisable to people below 15 (which would exclude 45% of the population of mouthshut. just kidding.. )
And thus getting back to Buffalo Soldiers..Buffalo Soldiers is a movie, which would prove uncomfortable to watch for most patriotic Americans. And if you are one of those War-on-Terror-loving Americans you shouldn't even ''think'' of watching it. The process of releasing this film was a story in itself. This film reportedly received its first press screening two days before the attacks on the World Trade Center. Obviously, it had to be put on hold especially at the time when the nation needed a lot of healing and needed to muster all its patriotic strength. In fact, the movie had premiered at the Toronto Film Festival three days after September 11th, 2001. So Miramax had shelved the movie waiting for more suitable circumstances and atmosphere in which the film could be properly released. Ah but would there ever be. Earlier this year they decided to release it in August anyway. Little had they known that my favourite politician Mr Bush had decided that Iraq needed an oil-well-ownership change (also known as regime change). Again the media and the government started milking the people for patriotism. So bad luck again but in any case the movie is slowly making its way around the theatres in the world.
So why all this controversy. You don't have to go very far. Mere look at the poster advertising the film and you'll get a taste of things to come. It shows Joaquin Phoenix, dressed in soldiers uniform, with an ammunition belt wrapped around his neck, saying, ''Steal all you can steal''.
I know that most American people are fiercely patriotic. I salute them for that. But haven't we gone a little overboard with all these flags. I know flags are a symbol of one's love for one's nation and maybe a symbol of patriotism. But apart from waving flags with your hands, flags on the shops, flags on the buildings, flags on the vehicles, flags on trees, little flags on your bag, little flags on your purse, little flags on the clothes, flags painted on walls, flags painted on roofs, flags painted on bikinis and underwear. You know, as much as I thought about it in the past I could never understand what kind of a statement a person is trying to make when he wears his national flag as his underwear. Am I missing something? I'd blame it on the cultural differences.(or my feeble mind). Hence it comes as no surprise that Buffalo Soldiers opens with a painting of stars and stripes (on the floor) casually being stomped on by soldiers. I think the film makes a very important statement with this very first shot alone.
Brief story: As usual I won't go too much into the story.
The central character of the movie is Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix). He is a smart and cocky soldier stationed in West Germany during the last days of the cold war. This is a time when the soldiers are extremely bored with nothing to do. Ray is an opportunistic man who is always on the take, looking to exploit the system to earn a few bucks. (how easily we forget that soldiers are human too and not some always-at-your-service robots). Ray very easily manipulates his fellow soldiers and his superiors. Rays boss is an unfit for the job, soft-hearted army General played by Ed Harris, who's only purpose seems to be striving for promotion and getting out of the place. The General's wife (Elizabeth McGovern) is extremely influential in the decision making process of the general and allegedly involved with Ray. Ray is running a big racket of things. He manufactures/sells drugs and sells truckloads of Mop-N-Glow cleaning liquid meant for the army (which I thought was hilarious). He accidentally comes across a huge cache of weapons and seizing the opportunity decides to sell it to the local mafia. It happens when a few soldiers inside a tank go on a rampage under the influence of drugs. Things are going smoothly until Top Sergeant Lee (Scott Glen) appears on the scene. He is a brute Sergeant who doesn't like Ray at all and is suspicious of him. He decides to make Ray's life a living hell. Ray, never the one to walk away from a challenge, decides to teach Lee a lesson by pursuing his alluring teenage daughter (the lovely Anna Paquin) just to annoy him. This then escalates in a full-fledged battle of wits between the two men ultimately resulting in betrayal and murder.
Bit about the actors
Ed Harris has played his role well as the dim-witted General. This is not the first or last time he plays an army officer and he handles himself extremely well. He comes across as a guy who is deeply philosophical and perhaps a bit out of place in the job he finds himself in. Exactly as the director intended him to be.
Scott Glenn is an accomplished actor. He plays the brutal no nonsense Sergeant to perfection.
Anna Paquin does not have the most important role in the film but she does very well in her role doing full justice to it.
Joaquin Phoenix is the actor who really drives the film. His performance in the film is brilliant! Those of you who have seen him in earlier films like Gladiator, Quills and so on would agree that he is a good actor, but this is easily one of his best performances to date. The role seems to be tailor made for him. Phoenix plays an intensely charismatic, opportunistic yet amoral soldier who almost gets away with everything.
Finally..
I would say this. Buffalo Soldiers is a very well made black comedy, which ponders about certain aspects of the military. The film takes place at a time when the Berlin Wall is collapsing. Extremely important historic events are taking place and being shown on TV but the soldiers are completely oblivious to that. On the contrary they are fighting a different battle between themselves away from all this. And that's hardly surprising. After all soldiers are not politicians. Its a robust and delightfully cynical film.
Having said that Buffalo Soldiers is not a commercial box office blockbuster. So I have doubts as to weather it would ever make it to the theatres in India. But that shouldn't stop you. Get hold of this movie through your DVDs VCDs and other means. Buffalo Soldiers is a breath of fresh air after being subjected to this barrage of heroic military films from Hollywood in recent times after Sep 11. Its easily one of the best films of this year. I read somewhere in the promos for the film that ''Buffalo Soldiers is a black hearted minor gem of a film''. I agree with it WORD for WORD.
