“Apocalypse Now” is a film about the Vietnam and produced during the 70’s. Although the film takes place in the Vietnam War it focuses on Captain Willard and his mission to assassinate a rogue officer who has killed many civilians and isn’t responding to orders. The premise for the film is a little weird because it essentially is someone suffering from post dramatic stress disorder is hunting for someone who is also insane. That being said the film is very interesting and illustrates the hardships and atrocities that the Vietnamese people had to undergo from the United States hands. Throughout the film Willard and his crew kill innocent civilians in order to stay alive and accomplish their original mission. On his journey into Cambodia Willard struggles with the idea of killing Kurtz who leads a tribe of crazed people who believe he is their God. Ultimately Willard is successful in his mission and he kills Kurtz, but not without the disregard for human life.
Acting played a huge role in this film and really improved my experience while viewing it. The characters were so interesting throughout that you never wanted to miss a beat. Kurtz is a fantastic example. His character was a distraught officer who was changed by Vietnam, without his amazing acting the message and tone of the message would have been less apparent. When Kurtz was torturing Willard you really understood his character.
Shadows and lighting also played a huge role in the effectiveness of the film. When Willard finally reached Kurtz, the lighting only allowed you to see half of Kurtz face which illustrated his elusiveness and as well made the film more interesting. You got the feeling that Kurtz was just as insane as you expected maybe even more so.
Even though the film location was the Philippines the audience had no idea and the setting worked in favour of the film. The huge brush and jungle just made it that more difficult to find Kurtz and added to the movie as a whole. In my personal opinion I didn’t find that the setting wasn’t Vietnam to be such a big deal. It didn’t affect the effectiveness of the film and I would have never known if I hadn’t been told.
In conclusion Apocalypse Now was a tremendously interesting film that took a different outlook on Vietnam. Though it mainly focused on Willard’s mission it also showed the hardships the Vietnamese had to face. The acting was superb by both Willard and Kurtz. I would recommend this film to people who want a new and fresh outlook on the Vietnam War, I would rate the movie 9/10 stars.
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