Apocalypse Now - John Erck's Reflections...
Tomasulo quotes Coppola in saying that he made the film to help the American people put the war in Vietnam behind them. This may have been his intension, but it is not what materialized. Apocalypse Now is an anti-war film that does not help the viewers put the war behind themselves. What the film does is to help them grasp the insanity of war and pointlessness of the “Vietnam Conflict�. The intentions of a film’s creator really don’t matter. What does matter is the way the audience interprets the film. As was noted in another student’s blog, Apocalypse Now shows much more than the news reporters of the time were able to show during the war. The reason behind this is the narration associated with Charlie Sheen’s character Captain Willard. Throughout the movie he’s able to express via narration what is going through his mind. As the film progresses, Captain Willard becomes more insane and detached from the motives of the “colonialist U.S. government�. So watching the movie, you’re able to see the atrocities of war and also get the insiders emotional perspective. Also, the characters either went insane like Kurtz (in an egomaniacal fashion) or went insane like the fellows that just wanted to surf! These guys didn’t want to be involved in a war. They wanted to be back home. They wanted to be themselves. It depicts the Vietnam War in a way that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and it’s because of this reason that I say it is an anti-war movie. Also, the movie gives no resolution, finality, or answers to the war itself and therefore doesn’t help people put the war behind them. What it does do is to put into perspective how pointless and destructive the war was to everyone involved, both physically and emotionally.