Born American

I suspect this film was made by the Finnish to pander to Americans. From watching Hollywood movies, they knew Americans despised the USSR, and Americans like to be the heroes. And, hey, Finland is right up here with Russia, so we have a plausible plot and our country kind of looks like Russia!

The three Americans being self entitled idiots traipsing across the border is actually plausible, but sheesh, it gets ridiculous quick. For example, one of the "good guys" is in a tiny church that's on fire, and the Russians close the door. So he- bolts it closed! Wtf??

And speaking of "good guys", uh, I'm supposed to like the three American guys why now?

This movie is totally surreal, because the Finn movie makers didn't really understand Hollywood movies. But that does give it a weird charm, like it's easy to imagine you the viewer is in the twilight zone where an actual Hollywood movie is like this.

There's even a training montage where I was surprised they DIDN'T have the guy do a crane kick.

This movie begins as one of those young-Americans-on-a-European-vacation affair. Then it shifts into an action-thriller as our three heroes, on a lark, sneak across the border into the USSR and are captured by Russian border-guards. At this point it becomes a grim prison drama laced with surrealistic touches. Then the final scene offers a hint of a boy-meets-girl romance.

While the movie doesn't quite succeed as a whole, individual parts worked well enough to propel Finnish director Renny Harlin all the way to Hollywood. Perhaps the best of these parts is the justly-famous torture scene in which a well-dressed interrogator who could pass as a college professor calmly, almost lovingly, attaches alligator clips to the nipples of Steve Durham in a series of screen-filling close-ups. These clips are attached by wires to a portable generator and soon Durham is jerking in pain from electrical shocks. However, the interrogator doesn't get the information he seeks so he concludes with a comment that he has all the time he needs in order to complete his task. (A better line might have included the thought that those alligator clips could be re-attached to other, even more sensitive parts of Durham's anatomy.)

Also worth noting are the scenes of a chess game played with prisoners instead of chess pieces, though not enough is made of this material.

Top-billed Mike Norris shows enough promise here that one wonders why his later film-career was so undistinguished. Albert Salmi and Thalmus Rasulala provide good support in small but pivotal roles. As for Steve Durham, he must be the only actor in the movies whose nipples are more recognizable than his face.

A "first movie" for a director is often quite interesting to watch. Sometimes the movie is excellent, sometimes full of film student stuff and pretentious tricks and usually tries too hard with too little. Born American is of the third variety.

The story follows three guys who are vacationing in Finland and cross over the border to the Soviet Union. Guess if the Soviets are depicted as interesting characters or something else (hint: this movie was made in the 1980s)? Anyway, things start exploding (often with the same sound effect). Also the Russians prove to be evil etc. Which is sort of interesting considering there was some tendency to self-censoring in Finland towards these kinds of things.

The plot is actually quite ridiculous because it goes way over the top at one point. It really feels like they had made the movie up to that point and they noticed they have way more money left so they added more things - or bought some of that new crack-cocaine. Some twists really made me laugh out loud in their outlandishness or how cliché they were.

Actually, if this movie starred Chuck Norris, for whom it originally was planned, it would be quite well known after that Chuck Norris revival fad. Now it's just a curiosity for anyone interested. As a Finn, I'm ashamed of this movie by Renny Harlin (he DID make a few good movies, though. I still like you, Renny). Ashamed and also proud, few countries have something unifying like this that people all around the world can laugh at.

The bottom line: DIY MST3K.

So what is the truth about 'Born American' (or Arctic Heat)? The full truth is, that it is a debut movie of an action director who has done couple of hits and a couple of misses. And despite of its childish and almost propaganda like portrayal of the soviets, it does have a couple of interesting scenes in it.

It's easy to say, and see, that BA is an product of its era. Cold war was on and Soviet Union was seen as a huge menace. It's not only action film painting this kind of images about the soviet union, but maybe it is one with the most over the top approach, as almost all the Russians are shown as dirty and almost barbaric lunatics.

The plot is quite simple: three Americans are exploring Finland and they decide to cross the border to Soviet Union. The silly sods venture deeper into the Russia and are soon caught, which leads into an action scene, where almost everything explodes or burns down. Later, when the yanks are taken into the prison/labor camp the movie turns towards so unrealistic direction, that you don't know to laugh or to cry.

'Born American' isn't Harlins best movie, but surprisingly enough it ain't his worst either. It lacks the fluent movement of more experienced director, but over all as a debut movie it has some merits working for it. In 80's standards the action works pretty well and out of all brainless action movies made during that era it fits in pretty well with the rest of them.

I am a 60-year old Russian born in Estonia (a Baltic country annexed and occupied by Russia 1940-1991). I have travelled a lot by hitch-hike around the USSR and seen what the life was like there. I know the grim Russian reality first-hand.

That is why I disagree with a comment saying that Born American "is a bad, bad film and it's made worse by the fact that it portrays every level of Russian society in a very unflattering manner".

In fact, the film is realistic -- therefore its portrait of the Russian society is unflattering. The Finnish producer seems to know much more about the real life in Russia than many in the West. Later the film turns into an 'action'. But the general picture of the Soviet-time Russia is true.

Until the Soviet bloc collapsed this film could not be demonstrated here: it was banned. Moreover, Moscow made a protest to the Finnish government, even demanding that the film be banned from cinemas in Finland! Can there be a better proof that the film demonstrates the Soviet/Russian reality in a honest way?

Indeed, for a person in the West it may be hard to believe that such reality can exist. But may I tell you that an elderly Estonian exile once told of having cried watching a film about Russian slave labour camps, while other western audience laughed. People just couldn't believe it was possible -- but she knew, and she cried.

Valeri Kalabugin Tallinn, Estonia