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Thanks for the memories!

Boring

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A great film despite the caveat that a film rarely interprets a historical event with accuracy. (And the liberties with reality this film takes are too important to be glossed over.) But the question has resonated since ancient days. Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter for the sake of naval warfare; only after Troy is defeated, is he challenged on that decision. And in the Nuremburg War Tribunals, the response--"I was following orders"--was not acceptable. And the cop on the beat shooting a 13 year old teenager walking around with a toy replica of an AK47, defends himself as acting in the best interest and safety of the community. It is a very human expectation to ask and answer whether responses were suitable to the exigencies of the moment. (And if somebody needs to ask the question, then chances are, the response was NOT appropriate and in need of challenge to say nothing of criminal prosecution.) I recommend the movie but clearly, Harry Morant is not the saint or the good guy portrayed. The movie did portray him and the events fairly accurately. The truth of the matter, he had POWs shot out of an act of vengeance; he shot in cold blood the Lutheran Minister who witnessed this atrocity. (Depicted in the movie.) So the sanctity of Breaker Morant is left much in doubt. In other words, his court martial and execution were a just punishment.But as a movie establishing a thematic question--no matter how shaky in reality--it is worth seeing. Just keep that important caveat in mind.

If you believe like I do, that war is utterly futile, then you should view Breaker Morant. There is no better film that captures that essence. Even after 10 viewings, this film still captivates my complete attention.And there are many reasons. Just to list a few: the plot is riveting, the actors are superbly cast in their disparate roles and the natural backdrop and scenery are simply stunning. Amidst all of that lies the core attraction of this film: courtroom drama. Even The Bard would have had much difficulty replicating such suspense, emotion and linguistic eloquence in a play. Speaking of suspense, during the military court-martial, each and every utterance from the main players had my full and complete attention.Not many, if any one film of a similar genre has ever done that before.If there is one weakness though, the film is Aussie biased; so much so, that I got the impression the directors/producers blamed Britain solely for the execution of two of their native sons. Yes, the 'Thin Red Line' was culpable for committing atrocities against the Boers (concentration camps in Northern Transvaal) but were the British the lone culprits?Now, hold on a New York minute! It's true that Lord Kitchener sought a quick way to extricate himself (and the Brits) from this 'dirty' war. And it's implicit in the film that, Morant and at least one of his two lieutenants were expendable BUT it's also clear that two of the Aussie colonial volunteer soldiers did commit murder: the German pastor. And the soldiers were even unabashed about the events leading up to the heinous deed during the court martial. In the dock, they all admitted their 'hate' for the German pastor's partisan stand. Their words..."He helped the Boer cause, solely. And we warned him about the consequences, many times."And justice was served; the fact that it came by a British military court martial is moot. As soldiers, those Aussies knew the penalty. And the one (George) who was spared execution, probably knows now or should have known then, that he was only 'pardoned' because of his young age. Although, judging by the film's plot, his 'role' in the atrocities was deemed negligible even by the prosecution. The judges though didn't exactly state a compelling case for his innocence either.Not convinced? Watch this film and 'judge' for yourself...

An Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, and winner of almost every award given by the Australian Film Institute. The only reason it didn't win every award was that two actors from the film were competing for Best Actor, and three were competing for Best Supporting Actor.The film involves a courts martial initiated for political reasons against Australian soldiers fighting in the Boer War.Edward Woodward was Lt. Harry 'Breaker' Morant, who ordered the execution of Boer prisoners under verbal orders of the British Government. He, and two others were on trial after the German Government complained that one of those executed was a German missionary.Jack Thompson was Maj. J.F. Thomas, who was defending them. Both Woodward and Thompson gave splendid performances.Thompson's summation was outstanding, but it was to no avail as the graves were dug before the trail began.Bryan Brown was excellent as Lt. Peter Handcock, one of the three on trial, as was Lewis Fitz-Gerald and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell.

'Breaker' Morant is one of the finest movies I've seen in a while. Set at the beginning of the 20th century, it takes the viewer to the war between the British Empire and the Bower population in South Africa, a war that was mostly about land possession.The Bower War wasn't a conventional war. It wasn't fought between gentleman officers with rules of conduct. It was a guerrilla, hit-and-run war where the British enemies were farmers. This type of war was so unusual the British had to create a special corps to fight in it: the Bushveldt Carbineers, men who fought behind enemy lines and sometimes used unusual methods to deal with the enemy.In this movie, three soldiers are court-martialed for killing prisoners. However the court's intention is not to serve justice. In fact the three soldiers are scapegoats: for being charged with killing a German missionary, the authorities hope that with a conviction they'll appease the German government, which is favorable to the Bowers. Furthermore, by serving justice, the British want to make a good impression at a future peace conference. In other words, the soldiers are nothing means to political ends.The court is a farce and the authorities expect a quick conviction. They've rigged everything: witnesses in favor of the defendants have been sent to India, and an amateur lawyer is found to defend them. What they didn't expect is that the lawyer would give such a fine defense and slowly he dismantles the impartiality of the court to reveal the farce underneath it.The cast is very strong. There are many faces here that anyone can recognize from small roles in forgettable movies: Brian Brown (Cocktail), Jack Thompson (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) – and more famous faces like Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man). And they're all impressive. I especially loved Thompson's performance as the defense lawyer, a man who initially appears silly but quickly reveals to have a sharp mind capable of dissecting all the lies and contradictions in the prosecution's arguments. Woodward was also unforgettable as Harry 'Breaker' Morant, a poet turned soldier who slowly loses his mankind during war, especially after his friend is brutally executed by the Bowers. More than anyone in the movie, he understands the new type of war being fought and changes his tactics accordingly.And then there's the screenplay, the amazing screenplay, one of the most intelligent and witty screenplays I've ever seen in a movie. Just about every line is perfect in the movie's context, the pacing is exciting, and the non-linear storytelling for once makes the movie more interesting. Each line helps give each character complexity, while also remaining very funny. This is a funny, entertaining movie, in a sort of gallows humor way. But it's also rife with interesting points about the nature of war, the politics of war and the sacrifices in the construction of an empire.Although war is practically absent from this movie, 'Breaker' Morant, in the guise of a courtroom drama, manages to speak more about war than many movies combined.