Jarhead
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard
Details: US, 123mins, 16s.
Adapted from Swofford's novel about his tour in the Gulf War, Jarhead wavers between gung-hopro-war propaganda and parody, never making it crystal clear what its stance on war is. The gung-ho aspect comes from the soldiers' determination to right what America did wrong in Vietnam, as the Vietnam vet proudly boarding their homecoming bus, happy that finally his side "did it clean", will testify. Mendes presents the army like a lost generation with no noble cause, making repeated references to other wars (and war movies) - as when the platoon whoops at the helicopter scene from Apocalypse Now, and Swoff shouts in the darkness at a soldier playing The Doors' The End': "That's Vietnam music! Can't we get our own music?" Jarhead is a curious animal, as apart from friendly fire and no sighting of Iraqi troops until almost two hours in, there is not a lot of war in this war movie. Mendes doesn't follow the rules laid down by Kubrick, Coppola and Stone: realism is Jarhead's mission.
Review by Gavin Burke
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