"Platoon"

Title: "Platoon"
Director: Oliver Stone
Producer: Arnold Kopelson
Editing: Claire Simpson
Composer: Georges Delerue
Starring:
- Charlie Sheen as Christ Taylor
- Tom Berenger as Staff Sergeant Barnes
- Willem DaFoe as Sergeant Elias
- Forest Whitaker as Big Harold
- John C. McGinley as Sergeant O'Neill
- Johnny Depp as Lerner

Plot and Critical Review: The year is 1967. Chris Taylor is a young American who has abandoned college for combat duty in Vietnam. Upon arrival, Taylor and several other replacements are assigned to Bravo Company, 25th Infantry division. Worn down by the exhausting work and poor living conditions, his enthusiasm for the war wanes and he develops an admiration for the more experienced soldiers.

One night while on ambush patrol, his sleeping unit attacked by a squad of North Vietnamese Army soldiers. Gardner, a fellow new recruit, is killed, and another soldier (Tex) is maimed by "friendly fire" from a grenade thrown by Sergeant O'Neill. Despite having passed the watch duty to Junior, Taylor is blamed for the casualties. The platoon's most seasoned sergeants, the compassionate Sergeant Elias and harsh Staff Sergeant Barnes, argue about the issue. Taylor discovers a light wound to his neck is sent to the field hospital for treatment.

Taylor returns from the hospital and gains acceptance from a tight-knit group in his unit that socialises, dances, and consumes drugs in an underground clubhouse. Next door, more conservative members of the unit drink beer and play cards. As the patrols continue, Taylor becomes a more seasoned soldier, no longer standing out amongst the others. During one patrol, a soldier (Manny) goes missing. His mutilated body is found tied to a post close by. The platoon soon reaches a nearby village, where a cache of food and weapons is discovered. The soldiers explore the village and in one house Taylor discovers a one-legged young man and his elderly mother hiding in a ditch beneath the floor. Taylor "snaps", taunting the man and shooting at the ground before and forcing him to "dance". Sergeant O'Neill, responding to the shots fired, tells the group to vacate the hutch. Bunny turns to leave, then attacks the one-legged man with the butt of his shotgun, bludgeoning him to death.

Despite the villagers' denials, Barnes believes they are aiding Viet Cong soldiers and shoots a defiant woman (the village chief's wife) in the head. When the murdered woman's daughter cries out, Barnes takes the child at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her next if the villagers don't reveal the Viet Cong. Sergeant Elias arrives and gets into a fistfight with Barnes over the incident. Lieutenant Wolfe ends the fight, and orders the men to burn the village. As the men leave, Taylor comes across a group of soldiers raping a Vietnamese girl. Taylor stops the attack and rescues the girl.

Upon returning to base, Elias reports Barnes' actions to Captain Harris, who cannot afford to remove Barnes due to a lack of personnel. The Captain warns the Sergeants to "cease fire", "...or there will be a court-martial". Taylor speaks of this as "a civil war in the platoon. Half with Elias, half with Barnes." On their next patrol the platoon is ambushed and becomes pinned down in a firefight. Elias, with Taylor and two other soldiers, goes to intercept flanking enemy troops. Barnes orders the rest of the platoon to retreat and goes back into the jungle to find Elias' group. After sending Taylor and the two soldiers back, Barnes finds Elias and shoots him, leaving him for dead. Barnes reaches the helicopter and after they take off, a severely wounded Elias emerges from the jungle, running from a large group of NVA soldiers. As the helicopter circles overhead, Elias dies after being shot several more times by the NVA.

Back at base, Taylor attempts to talk his group into killing Barnes in retaliation. While drinking, Barnes overhears this, and enters the room, daring them to kill him. No one takes up the offer, but as Barnes leaves, Taylor attacks him. Barnes manages to get the upper hand, and holds a knife to Taylor's face. Rhah talks Barnes out of killing Taylor.

The platoon is later sent back to the ambush area in order to build and maintain heavy defensive positions against potential attack. That night a large attack occurs and the defensive lines are broken. During the chaos, Barnes and Taylor come face-to-face. As Barnes is about to kill Taylor with a shovel, the two are knocked unconscious by a last-ditch American napalm attack. A wounded Taylor regains consciousness the next morning and finds Barnes, who is also wounded. Taylor aims a rifle at Barnes, who dares him to pull the trigger. Taylor shoots Barnes three times in the chest, killing him. He then collapses and awaits medical attention. As he is loaded onto the helicopter, Taylor is reminded that because he has been wounded twice he can finally go home.

Based largely on Oliver Stone's own experience as a member of the light infantry in Vietnam, "Platoon" was the first film brave enough to pull out all the stops and put the realities of the Vietnam War on the big screen. For this reason it was highly criticized and highly rewarded. It won all four of it's Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and was widely acclaimed as the best film of 1986, beating out the phenomenally popular "Top Gun". "Platoon" is also a milestone in the careers of several actors; it was Johnny Depp's third motion picture and Charlie Sheen's first significant role. While some of the principal actors disappeared into society (just as some of the vets from Vietnam did), many of the actors have gone on to experience great success thanks to Stone's visionary film.

If you care to impress your friends with a bit of film trivia; "Platoon" is banned in Vietnam.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Content to Caution:
V-4.5 - War-related violence throughout. Jungle combat is presented in the most graphic form to represent the realities of warfare.
L-4.5 - Continuous cursing and coarse language.
DU-3 - Smoking throughout with scenes of drug abuse and drinking.
RT-3 - Significant racial tension between American troops and Vietnamese soldiers and citizens.
H/S-2 -No comment.
CH-3.5 - No comment.
S/N-2 - One scene of attempted rape.

The "Reel Revelation": "Fighting The Enemy Within"

Renowned for its stunningly accurate portrayal of jungle combat during the Vietnam War, "Platoon" is also highly regarded for its exploration into the inner struggles faced by the who fought during the conflict in Vietnam. As the film is based on Oliver Stone's personal experiences as a soldier in Vietnam, we can trust that the events in the film are quite accurate to the emotional and physical difficulties the U.S. troops faced in that hell of a war zone. What struck me as being equally (if not more) troubling than the combat conditions the soldiers faced was the struggle that took place within their own lives as they tried to maintain physical strength and mental sanity. It's no wonder that so many renowned war films have included strong psycho-analytical moments and plot lines. Perhaps you remember the strong emotional and mental struggles faced by soldiers in films such as "Apocalypse Now", "We Were Soldiers", and "Saving Private Ryan".

Consider these words that Chris Taylor spoke toward the end of "Platoon": "I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves, and the enemy was in us. The war is over for me now, but it will always be there, the rest of my days."

I suspect there are many veterans who would say the very same thing; that the war goes on in their hearts and that they continue to fight against themselves, their memories, and their fear of what happened during war-time. As I have never been a solider in the armed forces, I won't try to dissect this line of thinking and figure out why such brave men would feel this way. But I do see a direct connection between this sentiment and the very real struggle we face each day as we battle against ourselves, the desires of the flesh, and the seemingly natural instinct to do exactly what God commands us not to. But this ought to not be too great a surprise to us...we've been warned:

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these." (1 Timothy 3:1-5)

Who is Paul writing about in this passage? To whom is he specifically referring? I wish he was warning Timothy against a certain group of people, but Paul's warning is in reference to all people, including Christians. Paul knew, as we ought, that even the "best of Christians" can do any (or all!) of the things he listed. Check your life against Paul's list; you'll be sure to find at least a couple things you've struggled with and stumbled through. This passage reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: "There's nothing special about a Christian except that they're saved." That comment isn't mean to be disparaging, only glaringly honest in the face of our sinful nature.

Just as soldiers in combat did (and continue to do) battle with their conscience and inner-self, so we also find an enemy in our human nature. As if it wasn't enough to have to resist and do battle with all of the exterior temptations and spiritual forces, we also have to wrestle with our very essence as human beings! How many times have you found yourself exhausted from fighting against your own selfish desires and sinful impulses? Much time and energy is spent waging those battles, but neither are wasted if we learn from our experiences; if we come to "know thyself" through struggling with our own sinfulness.

Lent is a season of reflection and meditation. Many choose to spend significant time reflecting and meditating on the sufferings of Jesus. I encourage you to do the same! But be sure to give sufficient time to reflect on your own life. Pray and ask God to help you see the "weak spots" in your life; places where you find yourself most frustrated with your behavior. Pray that God will help you to turn from sin and give the fight over to Him. We cannot achieve victory ourselves, but Jesus has already claimed victory over sin through his death and glorious resurrection. That doesn't mean that the battle raging within our souls will cease. Quite the contrary; we'll fight "the enemy within" until the day we die. But with full knowledge of Christ's victory in our hearts we can live in the freedom that comes from God, for we know that the war is over and Jesus is the victor!

See you tomorrow - E.T.