Have there been any new developments on TX4? Anything? Not that I'm homesick or anything, I'm really enjoying completing my mission here... but you know. Keep me up to date if anything major happens, okay?
So anyway, this week was very fun here on planet Earth. There was a big event called 'Culture Day', which was a whole day dedicated to celebrating Japanese culture (surprise surprise). On that day I visited the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park, which is apparently one of Tokyo's most famous attractions. Everything was incredibly tranquil and peaceful there - it was strangely inspiring to experience such a calm religious atmosphere, not to mention the architecture was awe-inspiring. Various cultural events were taking place around the shrine, including martial arts and weapon demonstrations, and a Yabusame tournament (a type of traditional archery on horseback). Everything was so fascinating to watch, it almost felt like I had slipped through a temporal worm-hole and arrived in Feudal Japan by mistake! Really was a fun experience. You should come visit Earth sometime and see what I'm talking about!
Okay, okay, that's enough about me, on with the mission.
[2/52] Apocalypse Now
Now this week, I have an incredibly interesting and in some senses, divisive piece of cinema. Epic, impressive, thought-provoking, and artistic, while at the same time messy, overlong, unrelatable and most of all, pretentious - Apocalypse Now is a strange beast indeed.
First of all, this film was directed by a human called Francis Ford Coppola (who is apparently also responsible for some other films in the top 52, but we'll get to them later), and stars Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, and various other talented actors, all of whom deliver astonishing performances. One thing I have come to learn about this film is that is suffered from one of the most difficult productions in cinematic history, so much so that in 1991, twelve years after the film was completed, a feature-length documentary was released detailing the challenges faced by everyone involved. Relative to the nightmarish production, this film's existence is a miracle... but hey, if you can afford to spend 238 days filming and several million dollars of your own money on a project, you'd expect there to be something decent at the end of it right?
So the story of Apocalypse Now follows Captain Benjamin Willard, a divorced, alcoholic soldier suffering from PTSD, as he embarks on an undercover mission to assassinate a rogue Colonel named Walter Kurtz during the Vietnam War. Uniquely, this film is about war, but also about humanity, as Willard's journey to confront Kurtz has a profound effect on his character. Captain Willard, clearly still haunted by dark memories of his first tour in Vietnam and on the brink of insanity, is waiting in Saigon for a mission to get 'back in the jungle', when he is summoned by General Corman to Nha Trang regarding a mission to terminate a once-esteemed Colonel Kurtz, who deserted the US Army in Cambodia, and is thought to have gone insane. He is briefed on Kurtz's backstory, and told that his methods have become 'unsound'. Willard agrees to the assassination mission after being played a creepy recording of Kurtz's voice, and we are told in voice-over by Willard that it was 'no accident' he was chosen for the mission, and that after it was over, he would 'never want another'. On the way to the mouth of the Nung River, up which Willard would journey to reach Kurtz, Willard questions himself about the mission, and introduces the audience to his crewmates on the boat - "Chef", "Lance", "Clean", and the boat's captain, "Chief". Noticing the aftermath of a battle nearby, the boat stops to discover it was fought by the First of the Ninth helicopter squadron, their air escort, led by Colonel Bill Killgore, a shockingly desensitised soldier and surfing enthusiast. Dismissing Willard's mission initially, Killgore eventually agrees to take their boat to the Nung after talking to Lance (who used to be a famous surfer), and determining it to be a good surfing location. En route to the Nung's rivermouth the next morning, Killgore's attack helicopter squadron blares Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" from speakers, and upon arriving, decimates the small town in a grandiose, spectacular display of camerawork, editing, pyrotechnics and action choreography. Really, this is the most impressive sequence in the movie, and it just boggles the mind thinking about how it was possibly filmed. Following a decisive Napalm strike called in by Killgore, Willard's boat finally manages to begin the journey up the Nung towards Kurtz. Under the cover of darkness, Chef and Willard get off the boat to search for mangoes, but are suddenly chased off by a tiger, causing Chef to have a small breakdown. Learning more about Kurtz's past through his classified dossier, Willard begins to admire him, and wonders what he will do when he finally confronts him. Further up the river, the boat encounters an army base hosting a USO (United Service Organisations) event that evening with Playboy Bunnies, which ultimately ends in chaos as the audience of soldiers swarms onto the stage. Early the next morning, the boat sets off again, and the crew even appear to be enjoying themselves, listening to The Rolling Stones (who are a popular band here on Earth apparently) and towing Lance behind the boat on water skis. Eventually they encounter a sampan boat that Chief suspects might belong to the enemy, and they board and search it. During the search the boat woman darts to protect a box on the boat, causing Clean and Lance to open fire, wounding her, and after searching the box, it only contains a puppy. Before anyone can stop him, Willard heartlessly shoots the injured woman, killing her, so that they can carry on towards Kurtz instead of taking her to receive medical help. After that, Do Lung bridge is the next stop, and the final point on the river at which US troops are stationed - although upon arrival, it seems all of the soldiers have gone totally insane, and have absolutely no structure whatsoever. Collecting more ammo, and some mail for the boat, Willard insists that the boat presses on, and they head towards the final destination. Kurtz. In a moment of relative tranquility, the crew open letters from home, and Willard receives information from Nha Trang about Captain Colby, another assassin whom they had sent previously, recently discovered to have joined Kurtz. As Clean puts on a cassette that his mother had sent him, Lance lets off a purple smoke grenade, which causes unseen enemies to open fire on the boat, killing Clean (while the heartbreakingly optimistic recording of his mother continues to play - a horrifyingly tragic scene!). Making their way through thick mist the next day, the boat is suddenly pelted with toy arrows, fired by native Cambodians, and in the confusion, Chief goes mad, and is struck by a real spear. So with just two crewmates left, Willard finally explains the purpose of the mission to Chef and Lance, who are annoyed, but agree to go with him all the way to the end. Once they finally arrive at Kurtz's camp, they are silently greeted by about a hundred natives, and not-so-silently by one incredibly boisterous American photojournalist, who seems to be in awe of Kurtz. Gruesome artifacts litter the environment; hanging bodies, corpses and severed heads, and among them stands an almost catatonic Captain Colby, who says absolutely nothing. Returning to the boat briefly, Willard tells Chef about airstrike co-ordinates that he should call in via radio if Willard doesn't return before a certain time. As he ventures back into Kurtz's domain, still yet to meet the man, Willard is captured by the natives and escorted to Kurtz's chamber. Their first meeting is an unsettling and uneasy exchange, which is truly uncomfortable to watch, and Kurtz reveals that he knows much about Willard's mission. Entering the next scene, we see Willard imprisoned, and as night falls, Kurtz menacingly carries Chef's severed head and drops it in Willard's lap. From then on, Kurtz allows Willard to be free - presumably Willard has given up the will to resist by this point - and begins indoctrinating him to his way of thinking; admiring ruthlessness and evil. Inexplicably, it seems Kurtz wants to die, but wants to pass on his evil legacy to someone (Willard) in a ceremonial death. Later that night, while the locals slaughter a water buffalo (which was really killed to film this scene I might add), Willard sneaks into Kurtz's chamber and hacks him to death with a machete. The last words spoken by Kurtz before he succumbs to death are "The horror... the horror...", which echo throughout the ending of the film, as Willard leaves the jungle, leading an indoctrinated Lance with him.
How about that? After over two hours of buildup (or more if you watch the extended cut!), we are left with what could easily be considered an anticlimax - Willard kills him, and then there is absolutely no conclusion after that. Now from what I understand, Coppola had an incredibly difficult time making this film, almost driving himself insane in the process, but while this film is astounding and technically superb, it does show some dreadful pacing issues, and you can tell it was created without a clear structure. Kurtz's character representing the pure evil that war drives men to, and the river representing the journey to that point, is a fantastic idea... but without the structure holding up the whole way through, it just feels like watching excellent parts of very different films in an almost random sequence. So overall, this film is a flawed masterpiece - certainly admirable in terms of the scope, the technical ability, the acting, the cinematography (not so much the music in my opinion, but props to the sound design for all the redubbing they had to do with all the helicopter scenes), but which at the end of it all makes you think "So what on earth was that actually supposed to be about?".
But you know, it is at least a unique film, which oozes talent, and isn't afraid to be pretentious, so it probably does deserve to be in this planet's top 52 films.
Yeah, I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as Terminator 2, but perhaps that's just me.
Enough from me already... so for this week, this is MuiXViuM signing off.
