In 1987 Hollywood gave impression of trying to close the book on Vietnam War. In relatively short time three high profile films depicting that military misadventure from the perspective of ordinary soldiers were released, partly motivated by Hollywood leftists’ desire to counter Reagan era Weimar-style revisionism about stolen victory and “stab in the back” and partly because studios raced to exploit what was supposed to be a hot trend. Success of those three films ultimately depended on timing; the most successful was the Platoon, Oliver Stone’s passionate semi-autobiographic condemnation of war as senseless slaughter. Its success, confirmed by “Oscars” and box office, overshadowed Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick’s cold and clinical depiction of military dehumanisation, released few months later. Kubrick’s film, in turn, overshadowed the Hamburger Hill, 1987 film directed by John Irwin which was released few months later.
The title refers to the nickname given to Hill 937, peak of Dong Ap Bia mountain near the A Shau Valley, area in Central Vietnam bordering Laos. The plot is set in May 1969 and begins when we are introduced to the soldiers of a platoon within US Army 101st Airborne Division known as “Screaming Eagles”. During the relative lull in the fighting, Staff Sergeant Adam Frantz (played by Dylan McDermott), one of the squad leaders, uses opportunity to prepare group of new arrivals – replacements for the soldiers killed and wounded in previous actions – for the combat they might lie ahead. On May 10th squad is air-lifted in A Shau Valley and conducts what is supposed to be reconnaissance mission at the mountain before stumbling into substantial force of Communist North Vietnamese Army. On previous occasions, such force would, in accordance with guerilla strategy, quickly retreat in front of numerically and technically superior Americans, but this time North Vietnamese choose to stand and fight. The battle was anticipated and extensive network of bunkers and trenches built, their locations carefully selected to put terrain to maximum use. As a result, Americans are forced to attack only with infantry and get engaged in close combat without air and artillery support, which is likely to massacre their own troops through friendly fire. In next ten days attack after attack is repelled with machine guns and mortars turning American soldiers into minced meat and making Hill 937 earn its macabre nickname.
Like with Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, this film was made by people who had direct experience with Vietnam War. Producer Marcia Nasatir had her son serve in Vietnam and the screenwriter and co-producer James Carabatsos was Vietnam War veteran. British film maker John Irvin has also been in wartime Vietnam, shooting documentaries for BBC. This reflected in Irvin’s approach to directing this film, which is simple but effective, lacking the Stone’s pathos and Kubrick’s elaborate and sometimes self-serving style. Irvin prefers classic shots in which the viewers are allowed to see what is going on. And what goes on usually isn’t pretty, because Hamburger Hill uses a lot of gore and doesn’t flinch showing how human beings can be decapitated, disembowelled, dismembered, blinded and crippled in modern combat. And for the most of time such sacrifices seem in vain, with soldiers being killed or wounded for what appears to be a little or no gain. Probably the most memorable scene happens when weather conspires against Americans with rain turning the mountain slope slippery and soldiers who manage to climb immediately being brought down, making their effort almost literally Sisyphean. Few scenes in history of cinema have depicted war as ultimately pointless in such effective way.
Hamburger Hill also benefits from its clever structure. The film was written as an ensemble piece, without protagonists in classical sense. In the first part, which runs less than an hour, and during scenes depicting pauses in actual fighting, various characters are fleshed out. The platoon is very diverse in terms of soldiers’ racial, ethnic and economic background, but also in terms of their views towards the war which, by that point, became increasingly unpopular and created deep divisions within American society. Yet, film lacks bombastic political statements and the opinion towards the war is expressed in simple and believable terms. Most soldiers are drafted, many of them blacks who lacked college education and political connections necessary to stay home; most care little about politics and just want to survive, which becomes increasingly unlikely with each day the battle lasts. Unlike the conventional war films, there aren’t any “rules” about who would live or die; death comes at random, regardless of whether someone is black or white, heroic or cowardly, veteran or rookie. Casting was made with this in mind. Hamburger Hill lacked real stars and all roles were played by unknown actors, thus not allowing the audience to guess each of character’s fates.
The acting is superb and, unsurprisingly, some of cast members later had successful careers, most notably McDermott who would become television star, just like Courtney B. Vance in the role of outspoken black medic “Doc”. Same would happen to Steven Weber who played platoon sergeant Worcester and Michael Boatman who played rifleman nicknamed “Motown”; the latter soon afterwards played role of a US Army Specialist Beckett in Vietnam-themed television series China Beach. Excellent acting performances and Irvin’s good use of Philippine’s locations make Hamburger Hill a very good film, although it is not exactly perfect. The flaws can be found in underused musical score by Philip Glass which doesn’t mix well with “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by Animals, perfect theme song for the film. Scene featuring Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. should have been used at the end rather than at the beginning. Film also lacks proper epilogue that could explain real historical aftermath of the battle, which proved to be as pointless as the entire war. Yet, despite those shortcomings and Irvin’s reputation being inferior to Stone’s and Kubrick’s, Hamburger Hill can still recommended as one of the finest films dedicated to that unpleasant piece of 20th Century.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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