by Tyler Ruth ’16

In Joseph Conrad’s 1901 novella “Heart of Darkness,” Marlow, the first-person narrator, recounts the story of when he travels deeper and deeper into the depths of Africa to find Kurtz, a man who abandoned his job with an ivory trading company, went insane, and became a godlike figure to the native African people.  In “Apocalypse Now,” the 1979 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen) must travel deeper and deeper into the depths of a Cambodian forest during the Vietnam war to find and kill Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando), a man who abandoned his post with the US Army, went insane, and became a godlike figure to the native people.  Familiar?

The movie borrows a lot from “Heart of Darkness,” including its themes of madness, evil and power.  However, it separates itself just enough from the novella to become a breath of fresh air for those who have, or have not, already read the novella.  Judging from the trailers for the film from 1979, a regular viewer would think this movie is nothing different than other films about the Vietnam War.  But do not be tricked, “Apocalypse Now” has more than just action.  It is gritty and shows the effects of war on not only the psyche of a soldier, but the people who are supposedly the “enemy.”  Just like “Heart of Darkness,” it makes the viewer ponder how different are we really from those we call uncivilized?

As Willard’s US Army boat rolls down the river, inching closer and closer to Kurtz, viewers get an ever-growing uneasy feeling in their gut.  The men on the boat drift by a downed helicopter, their dead comrades in plain view, burnt to nothing but their bones.  The men do not make a sound.  In another scene, the tone changes dramatically.  The men are water skiing in tow of the boat, laughing, as they drive past the many villages of Cambodia.  The men search a village when one woman makes a very sudden movement.  An American machine gunner opens fire on the entire village and kills them all.  What do they do?  Sit back and laugh about the “gooks.”  There is a very wide range of emotion in such short amounts of time that makes even the viewer question their humanity.  

Then finally, Willard meets Kurtz.  Everything that has built up to this moment leads the viewer to believe that Willard can just kill him and go home.  They’ve slaughtered villagers with no problem, so surely a crazy, AWOL soldier will be an easy job, right?  Wrong.  Just like the natives, Willard becomes seduced by Kurtz and his honesty about the horrors of war.  He knows he has to complete his mission, and this makes even the viewer conflicted as they’ve seen all the horrors leading up to this moment that some will want him to leave Kurtz alive as well.
The film is great because Coppola does not spare the viewer any emotional toll.  Each scene, especially with those involving Kurtz, radiates a fearful tone, which is only made greater with the film’s excellent use of music (the last scene with The Doors playing in the background is perfect).  The commentary on the insanity of war alone makes with movie worth a watch.