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For you, perhaps . . . not for most, nor for me

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In Reply to: Major, fatal flaw of "Apocalypse Now:" posted by tinear on May 24, 2005 at 17:00:11:

Sheen seemed to me to be the classic "conflicted innocent" thrown into the situation.
I have always thought that Apocalypse Now was very successful in getting the audience to feel what the director wanted. Whether you like the feelings it engenders or not does not indicate failure for the film.
e.g. The scene with the playgirls having to flee on the helicopter was sheer genius . . . not for their flight . . . but because Willard (Sheen), as he watches, moves further and further away from his comrades. And his isolation at the end is perfect.
It is, in a way, a poet's view of war, carnage, conflict and degredation. In virtually every sense of the word, the 'greatest" character is Brando's. I am not sure how I personally regard the film and its excesses. But I witnessed all of those excesses (and more) in Africa. There is a madness that descends on one in such trials. This movie shows it better than any movie I know. I seldom watch it. Perhaps because I know that Kurtz was right realpolitically and that Willard was the flunkie sent out to silence him. I admit that Kurtz was correct. All else in a veneer on a very unstable surface.
And I always remember, as in Conrad's short novel, if Kurtz had not assented, he could not have been silenced. The film portrays the madness, isolation and banality of evil stunningly well. Situations like this do happen, the blindfolded solipsists of this board notwithstanding. I am always staggered that someone even came close to getting it right.

Follow Ups:

I'm so grateful you've taken time out - tinear 16:03:35 05/25/05 (5)
from your spy activities to comment on the veracity of the film. If your view of war is such that you find the scene on the beach believable, hey, who can argue with such an authority...solipsism, indeed!
My point, incidentally, wasn't directed at the story line but at the directorial excesses and the blunder of having such a wimp cast as an assassin.
- Tin . . . - Auricle 21:36:22 05/25/05 (3)
  the most successful assassins seem to be wimps. Ask Trotsky . . . Oh, wait. You can't! Axe in his head, and stuff!
  Obviously, you ain't been there.
  I did not say that the film has no problems. I did say that it got certain things right about that circumstance; so right that it is stunning. Perhaps you are fortunate that you don't get them . . . or know about them.
  But you are fortunate only so long as this society remains (relative to the rest of the world) free of such things. We weren't, you know (See "Revolution: America"). And we shall not be for long now that we are the focus of envy and hatred amongst the dispossessed of the world.
  - First off, we are dealing with film. You cast - tinear 05:11:12 05/26/05 (2)
    a wimp as an assassin it destroys the drama: Sheen looked like a drunken musician destroying a hotel room.
    He was a professional assassin, get it? Not a one-time loonie, but a pro who did this many times and was so trained. You may wish to get to know a few Army assassins, the easiest ones to access being snipers. Not a wimp in the bunch.
    Ok, go back to your over-intellectualized view of this film and war (good directors don't have to bore you to make you feel the characters boredom).
    - Re: First off, we are dealing with film. You cast - Alex S 07:13:48 05/26/05 (1)
      > He was a professional assassin, get it?
      He was a professional assassin but now wrecked with guilt, cynicism, introspection and fatique. He started to question the cause, who were the real murderers? maybe Kurtz was the sanest of them all. The portrayal of the resultant conflicted self may come across as wimpy ('unsure' = 'wimpy'), but I didn't get that impression.
      Speaking of snipers, I also liked Richard Farnsworth's reminiscing with regret in The Straight Story.
      - I wasn't clear (and apologies to Auricle for - tinear 15:07:16 05/26/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: First off, we are dealing with film. You cast posted by Alex S on May 26, 2005 at 07:13:48:
        
        over-reacting) but I mean Sheen doesn't have the gravitas to play the part. Period. Hell, Jim Carrey could play it for the same reasons many here mentioned but he'd still be wimpy Jim.
- Tin . . . - Auricle 16:57:36 05/25/05 (0)
  the most successful assassins seem to be wimps. Ask Trotsky . . . Oh, wait. You can't! Axe in his head, and stuff!
  Obviously, you ain't been there.
  I did not say that the film has no problems. I did say that it got certain things right about that circumstance; so right that it is stunning. Perhaps you are fortunate that you don't get them . . . or know about them.
  But you are fortunate only so long as this society remains (relative to the rest of the world) free of such things. We weren't, you know (See "Revolution: America"). And we shall not be for long now that we are the focus of envy and hatred amongst the dispossessed of the world.

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