Breaker Morant (1980)
Directed by Bruce Beresford
During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom.
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What critics compared Breaker Morant to
Lewis Fitz-Gerald (who began his film career in "Breaker Morant" in 1980) offers strong comic support while veteran Keith David (whom many will remember for his fight scene with Roddy Piper in 1988's "They Live") brings the appropriate gravity to his role as the Muslim cleric.
The crowd includes tough-talking docking pilot Fry (High Art’s Radha Mitchell, in the buffed Sigourney Weaver role from Alien ), musclebound, pissed-off convict Riddick (Vin Diesel), and a whole slew of obvious victims-to-be, including self-interested antique dealer Paris (Breaker Morant’s Lewis Fitz-Gerald) and steadfast Muslim cleric Imam (Keith David), who brings three young pilgrims with him to the slaughter.
It benefits from its Australian outback location and a nice blend of Aussie talent, including newcomer Radha Mitchell ("Love and Other Catastrophes") and seasoned veterans Lewis Fitz-Gerald ("Breaker Morant") and Simon Burke ("The Devil's Playground"), which it mixes with such American actors as Vin Diesel ("Saving Private Ryan") and Cole Hauser ("Good Will Hunting").
Dr. Walter Perkins (Jack Thompson, "Breaker Morant," "Australia") suggests writing, Nick's former dream occupation, as therapy, and off we go into a land of too much narration by the cast member least able to do it justice.
If you think the Australian cinematic new wave of the 1970s and 1980s consisted mainly of enigmatic art films like Picnic at Hanging Rock, historical dramas such as Breaker Morant and Gallipoli, or sensitive character studies by Gillian Armstrong or Jane Campion (yes, yes, we know she's a Kiwi, but she made her name in Oz), then you've got a snike in yer living room, mite.
In a way, the film is closer in spirit to the kind of moody Australian historical dramas of the '70s and early '80s in which Weir and his cameraman, Russell Boyd, made their names: a somewhat grander version of such films as "Breaker Morant" or "Gallipoli."
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If you've seen "Breaker Morant" and "The Caine Mutiny," you can guess what happens next.
In one of his earliest films, 1957's "Paths of Glory," Kubrick indicted the military in a shattering World War I study on the insanity of war, a kind of "Breaker Morant."