Regie:
Gregor JordanCamera:
Oliver StapletonMuziek:
David HolmesActeurs:
Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin, Gabriel Mann, Leon, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Michael Peña, Glenn Fitzgerald, Dean Stockwell (meer)Samenvattingen(1)
Het is 1989. Net voor de val van de Berlijnse muur wordt de wereld veilig gemaakt voor de nieuwe wereldorde. Maar op de Theodore Roosevelt legerbasis net buiten Stuttgart in West-Duitsland ziet Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix), specialist in het 317e bevoorradingsbataljon, zijn eigen koude oorlog witheet worden. Elwood is een beminnelijke schavuit die er in geslaagd is om in zijn legerdienst een bloeiend netwerk uit te bouwen op de zwarte markt, maar eerder uit een vorm van verveling dan uit ambitie. Zijn officiële dagtaak vervult hij als bataljon-secretaris onder de onhandige maar meelevende commandant Wallace Berman (Ed Harris). Daarnaast heeft hij verschillende handeltjes weten uit te bouwen gaande van de verkoop van gestolen goederen tot het bereiden van heroïne voor Sergant Saad, de meedogenloze gezagsdrager van de Militaire Politie. Wanneer er een nieuwe topsergant (Scott Glenn) op de basis arriveert, die de opruimening van de basis als doel voor ogen heeft, denkt Elwood dat diens komst geen probleem vormt dat hij niet aankan. Zeker niet nadat hij zijn oog heeft laten vallen op diens dochter, de rebelse Robyn (Anna Paquin)... (Paradiso Films)
(meer)Recensie (2)
Few people probably realize that some motifs in the film were based on real events. In the late 80s, the crew of an American tank actually went crazy to the point where they recklessly drove through a terrified West German town and demolished everything in their path. It took a lot of work for the American military leadership to cover up this scandal. The film's effort, decent cast, and certain provocation cannot be denied. However, the script is an uncomfortable mishmash, and, above all, it is not very accurate and convincing in revealing the essence of corruption. I do not doubt that there is corruption and embezzlement in the American military, as well as in many other armies around the world. But I feel that in everyday life, an ordinary non-commissioned officer would hardly triumph. Major corruption and embezzlement usually fall under the domain of big fish, and small fish are the easiest to catch. I would rather believe in successfully covered theft by a colonel than in this far-fetched story. If the screenwriter and director hadn't pushed for effect so much and stayed focused on small thefts and depicting the pervasive sloppy work, the film could have had a much more targeted message, and I would have had a better impression of it. As it is, it only gets an overall impression of 45%, which is unquestionably less than I expected from the film.
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Quite a decent anti-war film, which criticizes the conditions in the American army with unprecedented insight. Out of the whole plot mishmash, I was mostly intrigued by the more romantic storyline, where the main character, portrayed by the consistently excellent Joaquin Phoenix, pursues the daughter of his boss, with whom he doesn't get along very well. He decides to seek sweet revenge, which slightly gets out of hand when he quickly realizes that he has feelings for her. (75%)
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