Great Film: The Four Feathers
Beautiful-Looking, Old Fashioned War Melodrama
"Four Feathers" reminded me of "Dances With Wolves," a beautiful try at
PC reinterpretation of a soldier's role in an imperialistic war.
While I haven't read the original novel or have seen any of the
previous five filmed versions of the story and my knowledge of the
history of this period is pretty much formed by movies and "Masterpiece
Theatre," this is the first one done by someone born in a former
British colony, director Shekhar Kapur, so I was curious to see how the
natives were treated (well, more like the Pawnee than the Lakota in
"Wolves").
This version also carries today's symbolic weight of Western soldiers
against Muslim warriors, especially as the enemy is identified as the
Mahdi -- who Osama Bin Lama proclaimed as the last glory of Islam that
he aspired to replicate.
This new interpretation has Heath Ledger refusing to fight in the Sudan
not because of the cowardice symbolized by the titular feathers but
more in the spirit of Country Joe McDonald's view of the Viet Nam War.
I got lost a few times in the geography and rescue choreography and
found Djimon Hounsou a noble African with no motivation or reason for
being there whatsoever.
However, the cinematography is gorgeous and will all be lost in video.
Particularly thrilling are the battle scenes, which rate up there with
"Barry Lyndon." I was especially impressed that Kapur didn't keep
repeating the same sight lines, as most show-off directors do about
shots that must have taken hours to set up.
While crossing and re-crossing the sands didn't make a lot of sense
with little explanation as to survival, the treks and fights there were
lovely.
And heck, I'm a fan of the three leads, Ledger (who looks great even in
a fright wig), Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson (who mostly gets to dress up
and look pretty), so I just sat back and enjoyed an old-fashioned
big-screen Hollywood adventure (despite the endless chatter from the
row of old ladies behind me).
(originally written 9/21/2002)
Cast
- Abou Fatma played by Djimon Hounsou
- Col. Sutch played by James Cosmo
- Ethne played by Kate Hudson
- Jack Durrance played by Wes Bentley
- Sudanese Storyteller played by Mohamed Bouich
- Dervish Ansar played by Campbell Brown
- Gustave played by Daniel Caltagirone
