Full Metal Jacket: how people are dehumanized by the culture of war
Stanley Kubrick, “Full Metal Jacket” (1987) According to Wikipedia, a full metal jacket refers to a bullet consisting of a soft core (usually made of lead)…
War Films
British Films, North American Films
The Imitation Game: another simplistic cog in the propaganda war aiming to demonise Russia
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game” (2014) One of a slew of historical films from the UK depicting hitherto unknown or unfamiliar aspects of Britain’s role in…
North American Films, Russian and Soviet Films
No Russian troops but plenty of Donetsk determination and pluck in “Donetsk: An American Glance”
Miguel Francis Santiago and Alexander Panov, “Donetsk: An American Glance” (RT Documentary, 2014) Cheerful LA film graduate and investigative journalist Miguel Francis Santiago, fresh from filming…
Formation of a State: the fight for independence by Donetsk National Republic
“Formation of a State” (NovorossiyaTV.com, 24 August 2014) After capturing a group of neo-Nazi fascists fighting for the Poroshenko regime in Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk National…
German and German-language Films
Lili Marleen: a celebration and critique of the Hollywood musical tradition and its historical context
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, “Lili Marleen” (1981) An unhappy tale of thwarted love, Fassbinder’s “Lili Marleen” plays hard and fast with its original source material, a biography…
The Manchurian Candidate: a layered and intense film on the abuse of power
John Frankenheimer, “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) At some point during the Korean War in 1952, a platoon of American soldiers is betrayed by their Korean interpreter who…
British Films, West African Films
Half of a Yellow Sun: a moving story sunk beneath soap opera antics, character stereotypes and sketchy history
Biyi Bandele, “Half of a Yellow Sun” (2013) Adapted from the eponymous novel, written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, by playwright / director Biyi Bandele, this film…
Australian and New Zealand Films, Southeast Asian Films
Beatriz’s War: Timor-Leste’s first film is a story of hope, determination and perseverance
Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto, “A Guerra da Beatriz / Beatriz’s War” (2013) A major first in the post-independence culture of Timor-Leste, “Beatriz’s War” is a…
The Wind Rises: a dishonest, cowardly film that supports current Japanese militarism
Hayao Miyazaki, “The Wind Rises / Kaze tachinu” (2013) Miyazaki’s swansong film is a fictional biography of aeroplane designer and engineer Jiro Horikoshi, creator of the…
Apocalypse Now (Redux): an illustration of how war fashions society and individuals in its own image
Francis Ford Coppola, “Apocalypse Now (Redux)” (2001) The actual plot is very basic: sometime during the Vietnam War – a newspaper clipping on Charles Manson’s trial…