The Last Emperor

This 60th Annual Academy Award Winner for Best Picture is a biopic about Puyi, from his childhood in the 1950s, through his career as Emperor of the People's Republic of China and his eventual imprisonment.

However, another film was released in 1987, and it deserves another look. “Full Metal Jacket,” directed by Stanley Kubrick, follows a platoon (specifically a Marine nicknamed “Joker”) from boot camp training to Vietnam.

This film could be viewed as two separate, short films: the first half following new recruits through basic training at Paris Island, and the second half following a different group of Marines through the Vietnam War. “Joker,” the protagonists, and “Cowboy,” a supporting character, are the only two constant characters throughout the entire film. “Joker,” played by Mathew Modine, is an interesting character choice to lead the audience through the film. We aren't ever told where he came from (volunteer or drafted?), and we aren't even directly told his real name. All it seems the director has decided we should know is that this man is an all-American boy who is here, now and there’s no getting out of it. As this begins to dawn on “Joker” he is forced, as I’m sure many young men were, as to how best to deal and adapt to this new reality in Southeast Asia. “Joker” represents a duality of ideals that is embodied in many Americans: we want and work toward peace, but we’re more than willing to fight for it. This is even pointed out in the film, as his helmet even reads “born to kill,” while he simultaneously wears a peace symbol. He projects a facade of bravado, but is visibly nervous with every new turn events that brings him closer to the enemy. He often quotes John Wayne in the company of his platoon, but can cite Carl Yung and confides in a single soldier during an attack, “I hope they’re just f---ing with us. I ain’t ready for this sh--.”

 Another interesting aspect of the film is its depiction of violence. Kubrick has been criticized, citing films like “Paths of Glory,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “A Clockwork Orange” and “Full Metal Jacket,” as being cold, detached and lacking in humanity when showing violence. However, this seems like a contradiction, as most of the complaints stem from the horrific way it’s depicted. How exactly do you want violence depicted in movies then? I think a cartoonish or humorous depiction of violence is far more terrible. The realism of violence, and at times “ultra-violence,” in Kubrick’s films serve a point and furthers the plot or forces emotion.  In Full Metal Jacket, the violence, as seen by “Joker,” is always shown in slow motion. This drives home the horror, as he sees it. Toward the end of the film, when a sniper turns toward “Joker,” it is shown in slow motion and the audience can take away what it wants from that bit of foreshadowing.

Odd and often surprising moments of symbolism can be found throughout the movie. To me, the most interesting instances involve references to Mickey Mouse.

During the climactic ending to “Joker’s” military training career, "Gomer Pyle" is found in “the head” with a loaded rifle. When Senior Drill Instructor Hartman burst in the door to break up the situation, he screams, “What is this Mickey Mouse horsesh--!” Later, when “Joker” meets with fellow military journalists to discuss the recent Vietcong blitzkrieg, a small Mickey Mouse figurine can be seen just over his shoulder. Toward the end of the film, the platoon marches away from a victory, filled with pride and singing, “Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E… Mickey Mouse!” It seems that every time “Joker” enters a new phase in his advancement deeper into Vietnam, Mickey is there. Are the men longing for a fearless leader to keep their club safe as they grow into men? Are they longing for something, or anything that brings them back or reminds them of America?

 Often cited as being fairly down on the list of Stanley Kubrick’s best films, this film has grown in popularity over the years. I think it might be the most honest and un-Hollywoodized depiction of the Vietnam War. From most of the interviews I have watched that include interviews of Vietnam veterans, I gather that the horrors of that war were split somewhat evenly between first-hand encounters of extreme violence and loss, and the agonizing suspense of soldiers waiting for the inevitable violence of war. This latter aspect is precisely what “Full Metal Jacket” explores, and Kubrick investigates this with supreme precision. At times, the suspense is absolutely unbearable, and with this, a new and often-ignored aspect of war is uncovered.

This is my favorite film by Stanley Kubrick. I’ve seen it dozens of times, and it never seems to get old. It’s quotable. It’s unforgettable. It’s a classic.