' 4 ' Movie reviews:
by mike argento
Apocalypse Nov is a film of
surrealistic images Woven in
to a story loosely based on
Joseph Conrad's Heart of
Darkness. Unlike other Viet
nam films of this era, Apoca
lypse deals with the moral
effects ofwar rather than the
effects of war on individuals.
There are no characters that
the audience can personally
relate to as in The Deerhunter
or Coming Home.Thecharact
ers in Apocalypse are sym
bols, representative of moral
values.
For those not familiar with
Heart of Darkness, here is a
quick summary of that story.
Marlow, skipper of a steam
boat trading in ivory on the
Congo River, goes in search of
Kurtz, the trading company's
number one agent. The idea
listic Kurtz had entered the
jungle with hope of civilizing
the natives. In the wilderness
he discovers in himself the
great evil of which humans
are capable. Kurtz sets him
self up as a god to an army of
natives, inciting his worship
pers to robbery, persecution,
and murder. Marlow's
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encounter with the fatally ill
Kurtz leave him profoundly
disillusioned--shattered by his
knowledge of human potential
for evil.
In the film, Marlow is
represented by Captain Wil
lard, played masterfully by
Martin Sheen. Willard, a
trained assassin, is obsessed
with the jungle. He lives for
the hunt, for another mission,
for another victim of his mer
ciless, impersonal method of
assassination. He is instructed
to find Kurtz, played by Mar-
by jell drinnan
The Pythons are back with
another innovative satire-Life
of Brian-this one set back a
little further in history than
Monty Python and the Holy
Grail.
The scene is Jerusalem in
the time of Jesus Christ.
Partway through the movie,
Brian is mistaken for Christ.
Brian is part Jew and part
Roman, and hates the Ro
mans. Also hating the Imper
ialist Romans is the People's
Front of Judea, not be to be
mistaken for the Judean Peo-
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lon Brando, and murder him
with "extreme prejudice."
The first half of Willard's
journey is a struggle to dis
tance himself from the absur
dity of the war. Along the
way, he encounters insane
Colonel Kilgore, brilliantly
portrayed by Robert Duvall,
who plays Wagner's classical
music over a public address
system during his attacks,and
who loves surfing.
In the first half of the film,
Colonel Kilgore's modern ca
valry is seen surfing among
And the comedy of religion
pie's Front, whom the Peo
ple's Front of Judea also hate.
Inevitably, Brian meets up
with the People's Front of
Judea and decides to join
them, but first he must be
initiated. He must write anti-
Roman grafitti on a public
wall in Latin. He's caught by a
Roman soldier (John Cleese)
who gives him a lesson in
Latin grammar.
Life of Brian displays
modern attitudes in first-cen
tury Jerusalem, showing how
ridiculous radicals, religious
fanatics and other people mis-
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The horror of war
Vietnamese corpses followed
by a truly bizarre USO show
and an absurd battle at Do
Lung Bridge. After the scenes
at the bridge and a truly
shocking encounter with a
sampan, the film changes
drastically: Willard is travel
ling back in time until he
reaches Kurtz's camp.
The end of the film has
caused a bit of controversy
among critics. To this critic,
the ending ties the movie
together. The whole moral
dilemma of war is dealt with--
using Christianity are. There
is no satire per se on Christ
himself, but on philistine use
of religion-on misinterpreta
tion and general use of reli
gion for one's own ends. In
consistencies with the Bible
are shown throughout the
film.
The opening shot is a
humble manger scene follow
ed by a not-so-humble scene .
The use of the cross as a
symbol of salvation is satiriz
ed. The crucifixion of a couple
of hundred people is displayed
as a social event, with polite
Roman hosts and a jesting
Jew.
When Brian uses the fig
urative speech of the Bible,
onlookers take it literally,
interrupting him and ridicul
ing him.
A day in the life of Brian
consists of stonings,listening
to speeches by Christ and
religious fanatics on soapbox
es and more.
The plot revolves around
the radicals' plan to over
throw Pontius Pilate. Their
rhetoric is satirized through
Socratic dialogue and through
dramatic action, showing their
irrationality. The radical fac
tions fight amongst themsel
ves more than with those they
call their mutual enemy--the
Romans.
the necessity of being motiva
ted by great feeling of love,
and yet being able to kill
without any emotion, drawing
on primordial instincts. To
some this may seem ambigu
ous, but it is indeed a serious
concept when dealing with
war.
. I am sure that this review
cannot truly explain this film.
The amazing images, the
sweeping beauty and the hor
or of Apocalypse Now must be
experienced. It is definitely a
unique cinema experience.
After having passed the
initiation into the People's
Front of Judea, Brian joins
them in a plot to seize the
Roman palace in modern radi
cal style. On the way they
meet another radical group,
and guess what happens?
Brian is caught and brought
before Pilate, the straight
man, in a very funny scene.
Brian escapes, and of course
the unpredictable happens in
his flight.
While eluding the Romans,
Brian drops on top of a soap
box, gives a speech, and runs
off. After a group of people
find his sandal, they are sure
he is Christ. Graham Chaplin
plays the disinterested Brian
well, as he tries to rid himself
of the unwanted followers.
The surrealistic cartoons
greatly enhanced the film and
were up to Python standards.
Terry Gilliam played Brian's
wise-cracking (and occasion
ally nagging) mother well;
John Cleese added much
understated humor as a radi
cal Roman soldier; Michael
Paßbis played a silly leopard
and an absurd Pontius Pilate;
and Grahan Chaplin kept a
straight face in the midst of
absurdity and played an con
vincing Brian mistaken for
Christ. The innovation and
chemistry of Python worked
to make a uniquely funny film.
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