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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange
Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed the Cloverfield review, here's another one for you, albeit a tad more obscure but still in the found footage genre....
A freshly minted lieutenant and a cameraman making a training film join a platoon of Green Berets on a mission behind enemy lines in Vietnam. They're soon well into enemy territory and while the cameraman attempts to learn a little about each man, they move further inland. Eventually they come across a company of North Vietnamese troops and engage them, only to quickly find themselves in the fight of their lives.
There's something about the Vietnam war that always seems to lend itself to quality material. From Coppola's Apocalypse Now to Stone's Platoon and Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, it seems that there is no shortage of strong films centered around this particular war. Another that can easily be added to that list is 84 Charlie Mopic (sometimes titled 84C MPC), a gritty and realistic portrayal of that very war with a unique twist; its a found footage film as well. Yes that's right, a found footage film that doesn't fall strictly into the horror category, though its just as horrific as some of those given the subject matter. In fact, I could argue that its even more horrific than some, since it comes across as the most realistic of them all and also the most unsettling. These aren't stupid kids who lock themselves in an asylum or unlucky people who have demon's following them, these are soldiers fighting (and dying) in a war they never asked to be involved in. As the film progresses and you learn more about each individual, a sense of dread unlike any other in the genre comes across you, as you simply know that not every one of them is going to make it out alive. By the end of it all, its hard not to come away with the realization that the found footage style benefited this film perfectly, making it the most realistic and heartbreaking Vietnam film ever made. Given the stature of some of its contemporaries, including the one's I mentioned above, I believe that to be a pretty bold statement. Well here's another...84 Charlie Mopic is the single best Vietnam film I've ever seen, one that removes the sensationalism and inner turmoil that the others tend to focus on and chooses instead to paint an unflinching and heartfelt portrait of life, and death, in the jungle.
"Climbing up Hamburger Hill."
Written and directed by Patrick Sheane Duncan, the film is based almost entirely on his real life experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam war. While other directors had done this as well (most notably Oliver Stone), Duncan chose to forget about using the war motif as some sort of personal soapbox and instead sought to portray an honest slice of life from a soldier's perspective. To do this, he realized that the idea of a cameraman filming these soldiers would make the most sense, as it would allow him to show what was behind each man, both good and bad. The found footage style was still very new here, having only been used previously in Cannibal Holocaust, but Duncan shows an absolute mastery of it from the beginning. He uses the camera and the narrator to become the eyes of the audience, allowing us to immerse ourselves fully in the experience he creates for us. He also writes some of the most believable dialogue I've ever heard in a Vietnam film, which is most likely due to his personal experiences. He probably wasn't writing scripted lines so much as he was paraphrasing real life people that he'd met during his time in the war, which again makes everything seem that much more honest. Of course the dialogue is only going to be good if the actors involved are strong enough to make it work, which in the case of this film, they most certainly are.
"Good Morning, Vietnam!"
As far as casting in found footage films goes, I'd say this one is far and away the best I've seen yet. Each and every actor here brings a certain special something to their roles, and though its sometimes intangible you can always sense that its there. Richard Brooks (best known as Assistant DA Paul Robinette on the early seasons of Law and Order) portrays OD, the leader of the Green Beret team and the most stoic of the bunch. He's the only one who doesn't give any back story as to why he's in the war, but he certainly shows enough emotion throughout the film to give his character some real growth. The other recognizable actor here is Glen Morshower, who is well known to television fans as Aaron Pierce from 24. Morshower plays a redneck type who is questioned about his subservience to a black commander (Brooks) and gives perhaps the most intelligent and poignant response I've ever heard. It's not about race when people are trying to kill you at every turn, and these guys understand that, regardless of their personal issues back home. The rest of the cast is equally as strong as these two and again it sucks that we get to know so much about them given the eventual outcome of the film. Among the other standouts are Nicholas Cascone as Easy, a happy go lucky guy who is "short" and is just trying to survive the next 26 days and Christopher Burgard as Hammer, a slightly unhinged soldier who's more than happy to go into any fight with guns blazing. Finally, Jonathan Emerson plays LT (Lieutenant), a total rookie who is only out in the bush to make a name for himself and advance his career. The sad truth is that there were lots of these guys during the war, and most of them thought it was a lot safer than it turned out to be, leading to very few of them coming back. Emerson tries to create a sense of conscience among the others, but he is soon swept up in the torrid state of affairs taking place and becomes battle hardened before our eyes.
"Good thing I loaded my Full Metal Jacket's for this one."
The story here is not particularly original, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't mean to be in the first place. If you've seen a couple of Vietnam movies, you'll easily recognize these characters, but they've never seemed as real as they do here. They may be stereotypes, but the events that surround them are not, and before the film is over you're suddenly immersed in real war rather than pretend Hollywood stuff. The longer these guys go on their mission, the more we start to realize the futility of it and the war itself, a point made so easily in this film where it has to be fought for in others. There's a great conversation one guy has about how he's been really lucky so far which further drives home the utter pointlessness of the war itself. For all the top notch training these guys had before they went, it boiled down to simple blind luck that allowed some to survive and others to perish. The bottom line here is that the film doesn't try to do anything but show these men in this particular situation and then let the action unfold as it may. There's no political messages here, no sensationalist explosions or internal civil war struggles between opposing views, its just the war, plain and simple. Take that as you may, but I believe this is the true essence of the war itself, the small stories that you never hear as opposed to the all encompassing opuses created by the likes of Coppola, Stone and Kubrick. 84 Charlie Mopic may not have the budget or the pedigree of those films, but it has a heart and its honest, something that puts it well above them in my eyes.
"Thankfully these guys won't be Missing in Action."
84 Charlie Mopic was released to a limited theatrical run and grossed just over $150,000 but it also garnered several award nominations including one for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards and was also up for the Grand Jury Prize at 1989's Sundance Festival. That's not too shabby for a film that basically nobody I know has ever heard of, but as I say, if you like Vietnam films or are interested in a brutally honest portrayal of that war, you can do no better than it. Not only is it the best Vietnam film I've ever seen, its also the best war movie and best found footage one as well. Once again, I realize that's a bold statement, but hey, that's just how I feel. Would I recommend it over Platoon or Full Metal Jacket? For strict realism, yes, for overall impact, probably not, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out for yourself to feel its full power. 9/10.
"Next time, is this man a killer?"
Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed the Cloverfield review, here's another one for you, albeit a tad more obscure but still in the found footage genre....
84 Charlie Mopic
A freshly minted lieutenant and a cameraman making a training film join a platoon of Green Berets on a mission behind enemy lines in Vietnam. They're soon well into enemy territory and while the cameraman attempts to learn a little about each man, they move further inland. Eventually they come across a company of North Vietnamese troops and engage them, only to quickly find themselves in the fight of their lives.
There's something about the Vietnam war that always seems to lend itself to quality material. From Coppola's Apocalypse Now to Stone's Platoon and Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, it seems that there is no shortage of strong films centered around this particular war. Another that can easily be added to that list is 84 Charlie Mopic (sometimes titled 84C MPC), a gritty and realistic portrayal of that very war with a unique twist; its a found footage film as well. Yes that's right, a found footage film that doesn't fall strictly into the horror category, though its just as horrific as some of those given the subject matter. In fact, I could argue that its even more horrific than some, since it comes across as the most realistic of them all and also the most unsettling. These aren't stupid kids who lock themselves in an asylum or unlucky people who have demon's following them, these are soldiers fighting (and dying) in a war they never asked to be involved in. As the film progresses and you learn more about each individual, a sense of dread unlike any other in the genre comes across you, as you simply know that not every one of them is going to make it out alive. By the end of it all, its hard not to come away with the realization that the found footage style benefited this film perfectly, making it the most realistic and heartbreaking Vietnam film ever made. Given the stature of some of its contemporaries, including the one's I mentioned above, I believe that to be a pretty bold statement. Well here's another...84 Charlie Mopic is the single best Vietnam film I've ever seen, one that removes the sensationalism and inner turmoil that the others tend to focus on and chooses instead to paint an unflinching and heartfelt portrait of life, and death, in the jungle.
"Climbing up Hamburger Hill."
Written and directed by Patrick Sheane Duncan, the film is based almost entirely on his real life experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam war. While other directors had done this as well (most notably Oliver Stone), Duncan chose to forget about using the war motif as some sort of personal soapbox and instead sought to portray an honest slice of life from a soldier's perspective. To do this, he realized that the idea of a cameraman filming these soldiers would make the most sense, as it would allow him to show what was behind each man, both good and bad. The found footage style was still very new here, having only been used previously in Cannibal Holocaust, but Duncan shows an absolute mastery of it from the beginning. He uses the camera and the narrator to become the eyes of the audience, allowing us to immerse ourselves fully in the experience he creates for us. He also writes some of the most believable dialogue I've ever heard in a Vietnam film, which is most likely due to his personal experiences. He probably wasn't writing scripted lines so much as he was paraphrasing real life people that he'd met during his time in the war, which again makes everything seem that much more honest. Of course the dialogue is only going to be good if the actors involved are strong enough to make it work, which in the case of this film, they most certainly are.
"Good Morning, Vietnam!"
As far as casting in found footage films goes, I'd say this one is far and away the best I've seen yet. Each and every actor here brings a certain special something to their roles, and though its sometimes intangible you can always sense that its there. Richard Brooks (best known as Assistant DA Paul Robinette on the early seasons of Law and Order) portrays OD, the leader of the Green Beret team and the most stoic of the bunch. He's the only one who doesn't give any back story as to why he's in the war, but he certainly shows enough emotion throughout the film to give his character some real growth. The other recognizable actor here is Glen Morshower, who is well known to television fans as Aaron Pierce from 24. Morshower plays a redneck type who is questioned about his subservience to a black commander (Brooks) and gives perhaps the most intelligent and poignant response I've ever heard. It's not about race when people are trying to kill you at every turn, and these guys understand that, regardless of their personal issues back home. The rest of the cast is equally as strong as these two and again it sucks that we get to know so much about them given the eventual outcome of the film. Among the other standouts are Nicholas Cascone as Easy, a happy go lucky guy who is "short" and is just trying to survive the next 26 days and Christopher Burgard as Hammer, a slightly unhinged soldier who's more than happy to go into any fight with guns blazing. Finally, Jonathan Emerson plays LT (Lieutenant), a total rookie who is only out in the bush to make a name for himself and advance his career. The sad truth is that there were lots of these guys during the war, and most of them thought it was a lot safer than it turned out to be, leading to very few of them coming back. Emerson tries to create a sense of conscience among the others, but he is soon swept up in the torrid state of affairs taking place and becomes battle hardened before our eyes.
"Good thing I loaded my Full Metal Jacket's for this one."
The story here is not particularly original, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't mean to be in the first place. If you've seen a couple of Vietnam movies, you'll easily recognize these characters, but they've never seemed as real as they do here. They may be stereotypes, but the events that surround them are not, and before the film is over you're suddenly immersed in real war rather than pretend Hollywood stuff. The longer these guys go on their mission, the more we start to realize the futility of it and the war itself, a point made so easily in this film where it has to be fought for in others. There's a great conversation one guy has about how he's been really lucky so far which further drives home the utter pointlessness of the war itself. For all the top notch training these guys had before they went, it boiled down to simple blind luck that allowed some to survive and others to perish. The bottom line here is that the film doesn't try to do anything but show these men in this particular situation and then let the action unfold as it may. There's no political messages here, no sensationalist explosions or internal civil war struggles between opposing views, its just the war, plain and simple. Take that as you may, but I believe this is the true essence of the war itself, the small stories that you never hear as opposed to the all encompassing opuses created by the likes of Coppola, Stone and Kubrick. 84 Charlie Mopic may not have the budget or the pedigree of those films, but it has a heart and its honest, something that puts it well above them in my eyes.
"Thankfully these guys won't be Missing in Action."
84 Charlie Mopic was released to a limited theatrical run and grossed just over $150,000 but it also garnered several award nominations including one for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards and was also up for the Grand Jury Prize at 1989's Sundance Festival. That's not too shabby for a film that basically nobody I know has ever heard of, but as I say, if you like Vietnam films or are interested in a brutally honest portrayal of that war, you can do no better than it. Not only is it the best Vietnam film I've ever seen, its also the best war movie and best found footage one as well. Once again, I realize that's a bold statement, but hey, that's just how I feel. Would I recommend it over Platoon or Full Metal Jacket? For strict realism, yes, for overall impact, probably not, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out for yourself to feel its full power. 9/10.
"Next time, is this man a killer?"