Film review (From Stroud News and Journal)

Film review

BLACK HAWK DOWN (15)

WHEN I first saw the opening sequence of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, my immediate reaction was one of total anguish. No other film to date comes near to expressing the absolute terror those young men, some no more than 17 years old, faced.

Though the rest of the film didn't do that much for me, that scene was the most powerful piece of cinematography I have ever seen. After producer Jerry Bruckheimer's not so auspicious foray into war genre with Pearl Harbour he has gone for more of a documentary style with his latest film Black Hawk Down. This is in your face realism but unlike the heart wrenching 30 minutes of Saving

Private Ryan the combat mayhem covers the whole running time of 144 minutes. I am pro de-glamourising war films which Black Hawk Down certainly achieves. However it rather loses its impact when there is no break. As someone pointed out, the same actor could have died many times and one wouldn't be the wiser. You cease to care when the soldiers are all so interchangeable.

This film is based on a true story about the battle of Mogadishu which took place in Somalia in 1993.

The script has been adapted from Mark Bowdens best selling book Black Hawk Down.

The original battle claimed the lives of 500 Somalians, 18 American soldiers and left 73 wounded. It is now regarded as the most important American military turn around since Vietnam. Though set in Somalia, the film was shot in Morocco.

We are given detailed histories of the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and Somalia with subtitles, before the story starts. This helps one understand the simple, but - due to the violence - still confusing plot. In autumn 1993 an elite force of 120 American Delta Units and Ranger Infantry were dropped in Mogadishu to capture two Lieutenants of Aidid.

However things go awry when two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are shot down. Like the recent Behind Enemy Lines(2002) this film is about a rescue mission from enemy terrain.

Actually its a double recovery as more troops are sent in to rescue the rescuers.

Black Hawk Down is not big on personality building, but we lea rn that John Grimes (Ewan McGregor Moulin Rouge 2001) is a company clerk keen on his coffee and Matt Eversmann (Josh Hartnett Pearl Harbour) is a dreamer with very little concept of war.

Thats about it as far as fleshing out the characters goes. The rest of the cast is brimming with star-studded names such as Sam Shepard (Steel Magnolias 1989) Jeremy Piven (Very Bad Things 1998) and newcomer Orlando Bloom (The Fellowship of the Ring 2001). There are also many up and coming actors playing the 40 soldiers the film concentrates on. Not that anyone is really recognizable. I am told Ioan Gruffudd (the title role on TVs Hornblower) was there, but I didnt spot him.

This films director Ridley Scott (Gladiator 2000) always manages to convince. There is diversity about his work, which keeps the viewer on his toes. Black Hawk Down is definitely not to everyones taste in one scene a soldier pockets a severed hand. However it is a film that makes one think.

The incident was a foreign policy headache for President Clinton and ultimately led to the withdrawal of US troops from Somalia. I found the script a trifle baffling, but its graphic photography by Slawomir Idziak (Proof of Life 2000) and brilliantly evocative music by Hans Zimmer (The Thin Red Line1998) are somehow compelling. As there isnt much dialogue I just wish it had been an hour shorter.

This is not for the faint hearted. That said, I am sure it will be up for a few Oscar nominations.

Clare Shepherd 6/10