Kokoda: 39th Battalion

There is a certain amount of trepidation in approaching a war film in the current climate of anti-war sentiment. Can you make it objective and avoid the over-sentimental patriotism of so many American entries in this genre?

The makers of Kokoda seem to have thought long and hard about this.

The moment in history depicted in this film is the invasion by the Japanese into New Guinea in World War 2. A situation that directly threatened Australia as most of the Allied forces were consumed with fighting their own battles many thousands of miles away.

For Australia it was a matter of going to this hostile environment to repel the enemy advance or watch them invade the homeland. Many volunteer troups were enlisted (known as "chocco's") to supplement the regular army. They were under-trained and poorly equipped for this battlefront.

We are shown that men may be drawn to war for the right reasons but when confronted with the prospect of death then the basic human instincts of survival take over. Would you just look after yourself or help your comrades?

First time director Alister Grierson and co-writer John Lonie wisely decided to take a small incident to humanise the situation rather than try for an historical docu-drama. The result is a tense, superbly acted and directed 90 minutes that never loses its grip.

Stunning cinematography highlights the beauty of the rainforest canopy against the human horrors unfolding below.

This would be a great film in any year. The fact that is has been put together by a first time director on a low budget with a mainly unknown cast (all performances are riveting) makes this a major achievement.

This movie is a real eye-opener. It gives a good 1st person perspective of what it would have been like to struggle with disease, not much food, hard ground to move forward on and a strong enemy. (outnumber Aussies 10-1) Throughout the film there are great camera angles and cinematography. Even though most of the actors are basically unknown, they do a superb job of acting. Some scenes are quite graphic, so people who are not used to seeing blood spurting, probably shouldn't see this. In Australia this movie in M15+, but for Americans who are wondering what rating it will be, R is probably a good estimate. All in All a good movie, 7.3 out of ten.

It's funny that the ending of this film has been criticised here as unrealistic and melodramatic. One commenter even said it was of "Neighbours" (soap opera) quality.

In fact the final scene is an exact reconstruction of a parade of members of the 39th battalion before their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner at the village of Menari. Every word spoken by William McInnes (playing Honner) in this scene is taken from the official record of the proceedings on that day.

So much for "Neighbours".

The film is good without being great. The budget supplies the reason. What it does convey is the hostile terrain over which the Australian soldiers had to lug all their supplies, including heavy artillery pieces... and then they had to fight the Japanese, who heavily outnumbered them, when they reached the top of the ranges.

These were part-time soldiers, reservists with inferior training and green troops for the most part. Their job was to hold the line until the professional veterans (back from North Africa) arrived to take over. It was a war fought in platoon and section strength, with few pitched battles. Ever since the survivors of the two reserve battalions have been called "The Ragged Bloody Heroes", and deservedly so.

Recently these has been some revisionism among politically biased historians, claiming that Kokoda was a waste of time and effort; that the Japanese had no intention of invading Australia. While they may not have been as serious about Kokoda as they were regarding the developing disaster at Gualalcanal, one thing is certain: if the Japanese had not been held back on the Kokoda Track, taking Port Moresby would have been a prize too easily won to refuse. Taking Moresby, and perhaps then Australia could have changed not only the war in the South West Pacific area, but perhaps the whole course of WW2.

The men of the 39th battalion had no opportunity to speculate from afar, and safety, on the political potential of Kokoda as relevant to 2006 politics. They had to fight and die where they stood. That is why their story is worth telling, a story of small groups of men fighting shadows in a jungle nightmare scenario, without the option of surrender.

While The Mud, The Sickness and the Unsettling Horrors, Of fighting a war in the Papuan Rainforest, Against the seemingly unstopable (Albeit Mis-Represented!) Japanese foe are well captured..The soldiers "Chocos" personalities however?, Are not!

The viewer is just not given a lot of background information on these men...Where they came from?, Why they were fighting?..Etc!.., Leaving the viewer not really caring, As to who survives the ordeal.

On top of that, The movie is affected by a slightly heavyhanded bit of Australian Nationalism, Not that's an overly bad thing?, It's just that it's feels 'shoehorned' in, For the occasion of the movie release..ANZAC Day!

This truly Australian film focusing on the emotions and experiences of the soldiers who fought on the Kokoda Trail was really well made.

I knew little about the Kokoda Trail and although the film didn't go into depth about the military tactics, the experiences of the soldiers were well-captured and must have been quite a moving flash-back for those who survived.

Generally Australian films are incredibly low-budget, therefore the film relies on the actors and the director to make an effective film. Regardless of budget, the film was incredibly well-made and had quite an impact upon me.

When the credits began to roll and the lights came back on, I couldn't help but notice a veteran behind me in tears.

Great film.