Buffalo Soldiers
Film // Jim // 1st January 2004
I was recommended to see this film ages ago during the paper-jam 2003 invasion of London. “Super”, I thought, “I’ll go and see that next week or something”, however there was no chance of this as:
1. Buffalo Soldiers is not really a mainstream film, it is nasty about about the American army and the main character is a heroin dealing smart arse.
2. Films like this don’t get shown at big multiplex cinemas
3. I live in the grim industrial wasteland of the midlands where there are only big multiplex cinemas. It seems that round here we are not to be trusted with anything more taxing than Finding Nemo or Love Actually (shit, actually) in case we get ideas above our station, form revolutionary factions and march southwards to string up the royal family.
4. Admittedly, there is the odd independent cinema and the “cosy” Warwick arts centre but then you have to put up with some chin-stroker behind you going on about “mise-en-scene” and “juxtaposition” to impress his mates throughout the ENTIRE FUCKING FILM.
BASTARDS
Ahem...Anyway, just before Christmas, Buffalo Soldiers turns up on rental DVD I hire it and it turns out to be quite good....
Joaquin Phoenix plays the aforementioned dealer, Elwood, in an extremely laid-back manner. This comes as a relief as the last thing I saw him in was Gladiator, during which he ate most of the scenery (plus a few pies by the looks of things).
Elwood is a bit like Sergeant Bilko but with added drug dealing, a soldier in the supplies regiment sucking up to his superiors and making a profit from his comrades. The first half of the film has some fun setting things up for the later dramatic bits; Elwood is stationed in Germany around the time of the collapse of the Berlin wall, most of his mates are stoned or on smack which he happily supplies while pulling the wool over the eyes of a genial Ed Harris.
After a while the peace is shattered by the arrival of Psycho sergeant Scott Glenn and his nubile daughter, whose hobbies include taking ecstasy and snogging while a german DJ plays a slightly speeded up version of Blue Monday.
From then on we are into fairly standard territory involving:
- a battle of wills between Phoenix and Glenn
- a practice manoeuvre subplot which made me think we were venturing into Private Benjamin territory.
- a drug deal gone bad
- mandatory shoot out
All in all this is very entertaining, but don’t be fooled by the publicity which claims that Buffalo Soldiers is some great anti-military tract. A TV playing in the background showing the Berlin Wall coming down while smacked up yank soldiers stab each other does not make for great satire. If that is what you are after read Catch-22 instead (as I always say), this is more like M*A*S*H with dope instead of Martini.
Not really sure what the whole falling metaphor is about, personally, I always wake up before I hit the ground.
PS David Holmes-supervised soundtrack is good too.
Comments
Made the mistake of getting this out on DVD when the wife was looking for a comedy. She has an aversion to violence and this is definitely a mood film. What I mean by that is that you have to be in the right mood for it. This is funny - in the early scenes I found the guy dying in an indoors american football game (or at least the reactions to it) poigniant and hilarious, and the film carries on in this vein. Unfortunately as the film goes on, the laughs get more mainstream (and therefore less funny) and some producer in the studio obviously pushed for a less ‘down’ ending. I would still recommend seeing it, with two caveats;
1) be in a cynical mood
2) don’t expect it to be as cynical as you.
Nick : 09/07/2004 23:58:21
I’ve eventually calmed down from reading this article and am willing to say my piece. Sorry, but this is a good film. I know all I’ve got to compare it with is all the tripe that Hollywood is puking out at the moment, but I still think this review just doesn’t do it justice
Sarah : 23/07/2004 20:31:04