Last night I watched Windtalkers on my computer via Netflix.
I used headphones and got so into the movie I didn't hear the guy knocking on my door until several attempts to roust me from my chair were made.
OK, so, here's the main thought. The Movie was fascinating, although I would have loved to hear more of the Navaho's language. It's beautiful. The sound and flow, the intonations and spiritual undertones were fantastic.
Nicolas Cage is listed as the main star. You gotta love just about every movie he does. Totally believable commitment to the character and story.
He is a solider, thrust into a command position when the commander is killed while deep in Jap territory. After refusing to retreat, Cage's men are all taken out, he survives, recoups in a hospital. Damaged? You bet, but he has to get back to the war. With the help of a nurse, he manages to pass the hearing tests and feign that his equilibrium is restored.
Because of his great valor, he is given the assignment to "babysit" or in war terms, Protect the Code, which is an adaptation of the Navajo language spoken by Navajo Soldiers. Its not about the protecting the Navajo lives, its about protecting the code. When Japs broke the Allied code previously, many marines were killed.
Ok, as the story progresses, we see the importance of this code. At on point US radio is destroyed. Cage and his charge manage to capture a Jap radio and call for air support. Another time, friendly fire is taking out marines and the Code Talker radios the correct enemy position.
This is a 2002 film. It is easy to follow, has many stars in it, is well filmed, gorgeous scenery and horrifically realistic battle scenes.
Racism is overcome, eventually, when the Code Talker goes rouge, proving his military worth as well as his communications skills.
In the end, we learn more about the Code Talker's family as they are reunited in the desert scene, looks like somewhere in Arizona or southern Utah.
This is a movie worth watching several times. I give it a five stars rating.
Showing posts with label World War 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World War 2. Show all posts
Windtalkers-Movie Review
Comments(0)
Veterans Day Appreciation
Today HBO is playing the ten part series The Pacific. Executive Producer Tom Hanks does such a remarkable job. My Vietnam Veteran life partner says it is very realistic. I believe it.
If you get a chance to see this series, do it. Not only do I appreciate the sacrifice of young men on the battle field, but also the men and women who were nurses and doctors, cooks, therapists, and mothers and fathers who saw their young men go off to war. They survived the impossible.
I am not a war hawk, nor do I believe in violence as a solution. Self defense is another story. All creatures have the right to defend themselves. In a perfect world there would be no aggressors and no need for self defence. Yet nature shows us that the food chain causes prey to become stronger and predators see to it that the weak, old and sick are removed from the herd. This leaves more resources for the rest, and preserves the species.
Is this how war fits into human civilization? Especially in times of economic crisis, perhaps we revert back to the food chain model of preservation. Perhaps civilization becomes optional.
One saying I've lived by is "don't be big and strong, be hard to find". When that doesn't work, be prepared to defend yourself and those you love.
Thank you Veterans for all your sacrifice, your time, heart and soul.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)