UNFORGETTABLE TALES FROM THE PAST : "PLATOON"

Now, as you know, I am on a mission to watch as many of the big classic movies as fast as possible. I am, generally speaking, quite “hungry” for movies, planning ahead what I will watch the next day, constantly failing to decide… But boy oh boy did I drag my feet when it came to watching Platoon… I had never watched it before like so many of the greats but I just knew it was going to hit me like a freight train… There is, however, no earthly point in putting off the inevitable so I went for it this morning. It did not disappoint in more ways than one : It was a brilliant movie AND it hit me like a freight train…
The year is 1968 and Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a college student. Or rather he was a college student. He “wasn’t learning anything” so he actually dropped out of college and volunteered to go and fight in Vietnam. He arrives at the base camp, as green as you please and stuffed to the gills with ideals. He is full of hope and thinks that by fighting the war and doing his bit he will become a man. The constant danger, sleepless nights filled with violence and the in-fighting in his own platoon split down the middle by two rival commanders will definitely make a man of him… The question is, however, what kind of man he will end up becoming…
One of the main reasons I gave this film a wide birth was the fact that I assumed, being a war film, that it would be all blood guts and gore. First of all, let me reassure you, it isn’t. I mean, it’s the Vietnam War for Christ’s sake, naturally there is blood and guts but they do not take such prominence on the screen. What the film is mainly interested in, and what is profoundly more frightening than any amount of blood and guts, is the changes that take place in the minds and spirits of the men themselves, from the foot soldiers right up the chain the lieutenant. The film questions mankind’s seemingly endless capacity to harm one another and be cruel, and violent. It also wonders whether or not this potential is actually latent within all of us… You may point out – and rightly too – that there have been a LOT of films who have tried to capture this change in their heroes and heroines and point out the cruelty and pointlessness of war. You would, however, be hard put to find a film that captures this waste of human life, be it the fallen on the battlefield or the survivors, so deeply scarred that they can never be the same again, so well. It may have something to do with the fact that it is partly based on director Oliver Stone’s actual experiences as well… Partly, it is the outstanding cast of the film, starring veterans such as Tom Berenger, Willem Defoe and Forrest Whitaker (and as a bonus a VERY young Johnny Depp!) In any case there is definitely a reason for this film to be awarded all the Oscars® and awards it got. In view of what is going on in the world these days, I am also rather sorry to add that the sentiment it portrays is still very, VERY relevant today. Watch it. It will give you a lot to think about. Oh, and have some tissues handy, unless you are actually made of stone you will be needing them…

WALL STREET

OK, let’s move things up a notch – a notch being 10 years. We are now in the 80’s. And having drunk our fill on um… Sensuality… Let’s move on to the next big thing. Money. And where to find copious amounts of the stuff? Why Wall Street of course! That’s precisely what Bud Frank (Charlie Sheen) thinks and dreams of. One day, he finds a way of making his dreams come true… However, as it says on the back of the DVD cover, every dream has a price…
So, so let’s back-peddle and hear the story from the beginning. Buddy. Buddy Frank. He is an account executive in a Wall Street firm. And like most people in or around his position, he dreams of one thing… Money. A lot of it. His father is an old-fashioned kinda guy. He’s worked in the same airline for 25 years now, he’s a union representative, well loved and respected. He has never had his son’s lofty ambitions but respects his son’s dreams – and lends him money whenever he can. Because Buddy wants to play with the big boys and thus “has to” live in Manhattan and wear 400$ suits. Anyhow, Buddy is not completely clueless as to how he will achieve this lofty dream. As an accounts executive, all he needs to do is “bag an elephant”. That is to say, get to manage the account for one of the really REALLY big players. Then the only way is up. He also has his eye on one particular “elephant”. The biggest elephant of the day: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas who SHINES in this part) Then one day, Buddy strikes lucky. Through sheer persistence, he works his way into Mr. Gekko’s office and begs him for a chance. Mr. Gekko “graciously” decides to accord him one. In the beginning, it all works out the way Buddy planned. Soon, he is swimming in money and has a high-class girlfriend. Sure, some of the things he has to do for Gordon upsets his conscience from time to time, but compared to what he has gained, that is actually nothing… As the stakes continue to rise though, Buddy will have a tougher and tougher time balancing his conscience… And then one day… It gets personal…
Now, seeing as this film takes place largely on Wall Street and the stock market, I think basic knowledge of how it all works would enhance the film GREATLY. Take heart though, I don’t posses one of these qualities and still loved it. (I don’t know the first thing about the stock exchange - I’m not even sure what a “stock” is much less how you would exchange it.) You are, however, able to “get” the story line; and by the end of the film I actually was getting quite excited about a certain stock maneuver so we can even say it was educational. And not only is it a basic story of good and evil cleverly transposed into economics, it is also (apparently) a quite sincere account of business in the 80’s. Oliver Stone says in an interview (if I remember rightly) that if Gordon Gekko is not exactly a “real person”, he is an amalgam of a few real people and the things he does are real actions taken by different people. Admittedly, it would take a lot to be so OTT when you come to think of it – he is quite a Dickensian bad guy; however, just as in Dickens, you are swept along with the story and the excitement to such an extent that you barely notice this fact until you are coolly discussing / thinking about the film later on. There are a few more “Dickensian” things about the movie. One example is Mr. Lynch who warns Buddy (rather like the spirit of Christmas Future) at every turn that he is heading for doom. Ok, I get it, Oliver Stone (the director) is trying to offset Buddy to the “new breed” of trader with the old school traders and ways of thinking. However, this is something he already achieves with the character of Lou (a real person now deceased) and more importantly Buddy’s father. Another scene I found Dickensian is what I will call “Gordon and Buddy’s final discussion”. It came out of the blue I felt, and too many things were said too openly. I mean, far be it for humble little me to say a master such as Oliver Stone is a bad director; these are just things that bothered me, but all in all I loved the film – I mean, I wouldn’t put it here otherwise or advise you to watch it. And I definitely advise you to watch it…