Casualties of War is a 1989
warWar films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
dramaA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directedA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by
Brian De PalmaBrian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
, with a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by
David Rabe, based on the actual events of
the incident on Hill 192The incident on Hill 192 is the name the United States Army called the kidnapping, gang rape, and murder of a Vietnamese woman during November 1966 by American soldiers during the Vietnam War....
in 1966 during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. It starred
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
and
Sean PennSean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
.
An article written by Daniel Lang for
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
in 1969 was the movie's primary source.
This film was, in a way, Fox's third major dramatic role. He had previously starred in the dramas
Light of DayThe soundtrack to the film was released in 1987. As a single, "Light of Day" reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received additional album-oriented rock airplay due to the connection of Joan Jett and Bruce Springsteen....
and
Bright Lights, Big CityBright Lights, Big City is a 1988 drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland and Phoebe Cates, based on the novel of the same name by Jay McInerney. It was the last film directed by James Bridges before his death in 1993.-Plot:...
.
John C. ReillyJohn Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
and
John LeguizamoJonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
make their screen debuts in the film, and the latter would again star with Penn in another picture by De Palma, 1993's
Carlito's WayCarlito's Way is a 1993 crime film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Jorge Porcel, Joseph Siravo, and...
.
Plot
The story is presented as a
flashbackFlashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
of Max Eriksson (
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
), a
Vietnam veteranVietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
.
In November 1966, a squad of American soldiers is on patrol when they are suddenly attacked by the Viet Cong. The ground cracks under Eriksson while he walks above a Viet Cong tunnel, and he is stuck in the hole while
mortarA mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
shells land near him. Unknown to him, a Viet Cong soldier in the tunnel below him prepares to silently kill him with a knife.
SergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) hears Eriksson, pulls him out of the hole, and shoots the Viet Cong soldier dead. Eventually, the Americans stave off the attack.
The squad takes a break outside a river village in the Central Highlands. While relaxing and joking around, one of the squad members,
SPC 4Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...
"Brownie" Brown (
Erik KingErik King is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Doakes on Showtime's television series Dexter.-Early life:King attended Morehouse College, where he won a varsity letter in track and field and graduated summa cum laude. For his honors thesis, he adapted the 1985 film...
) is shot in the neck by Viet Cong across the river. The squad kills several enemies until they realize there's Viet Cong running through a flooded field behind them. One throws a
grenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
at Eriksson, but in a miraculous shot he blows up the grenade in mid-air with his M-79 grenade launcher. Brownie is evacuated but Meserve later informs the squad that he died at the hospital. Shortly afterward, Private Antonio Diaz (
John LeguizamoJonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
) arrives as Brownie's replacement.
The unit is then re-deployed to a nearby village, which is believed to be an ally to the Viet Cong. Because of their reassignment, the unit has their
leaveIn the United States Military, leave is permission to be away from one's unit for a specific period of time.- Entitlement :Under normal circumstance, all personnel are granted 30 days of leave per year. This time is usually used for vacations and other extended time periods away from the service...
time cut short. Frustrated because his squad has been denied leave for an extended period, Meserve orders the squad to kidnap a
VietnameseThe Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
girl, Than Thi Oanh (
Thuy Thu LeThuy Thu Le is an American actress.-Biography:Thuy Thu Le was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. She was raised and educated in the United States, after her parents left Saigon during the Vietnam War. Thuy was only an infant at the time. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and...
), to be their sex slave. Eriksson strenuously objects, but Meserve silences him and ostracizes him from the rest of the squad. The girl is forcibly taken to the squad's next command outpost and is repeatedly beaten and raped by all the men but Eriksson. Oanh grows ill and develops a persistent cough.
The squad is later ordered to take up a position near a railroad bridge overlooking a Viet Cong river supply
depotMain Operating Base is a term used by the United States military defined as "an overseas, permanently manned, well protected base, used to support permanently deployed forces, and with robust sea and/or air access." This term was used to differentiate major strategic overseas military facilities...
. Meserve and Corporal Thomas E. Clarke (
Don HarveyDonald Patrick Harvey II is an American actor and voice actor, known as Don Harvey.He was born and raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the sixth of eight children. He started acting in high school. He did several shows before graduating and moving on to the University of Michigan where he studied...
) realize Oanh's coughing might give them away. Meserve has Diaz order air support for an assault on the depot, then orders Eriksson to kill Oanh. Eriksson staunchly refuses despite Meserve's death threats. Clarke looks out in the sky and sees a unit of
HueyThe Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
helicopters passing a mountain and then turning towards their position. Fearing the helicopters will somehow see their rape victim, Meserve first orders PFC Herbert Hatcher (
John C. ReillyJohn Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
) to kill Oanh, but Hatcher begs Meserve not to, so then Meserve orders Diaz. Before Diaz can kill her, Eriksson fires his M-16 rifle into the air, exposing them to the nearby Viet Cong.
As the battle rages, Eriksson, who is carefully picking off Viet Cong hiding behind a supply
sampanA sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...
on the river bank, doesn't realize that Clarke has brutally stabbed Oanh more than twice with his knife. Things become desperate when the Viet Cong move mortars up to the river and begin lobbing shells onto the bridge trapping the squad. Fortunately, Meserve is able to kill many of the enemy with his M-60 machine gun. In the midst of the firefight Oanh, whose wounds were not immediately fatal, walks onto the bridge to try to escape. Eriksson charges at her, trying to catch her but is stopped by Meserve, who knocks Eriksson down with the butt of his M-60. Eriksson watches helplessly as the entire squad shoots Oahn numerous times until she falls off the bridge, dead. The helicopter gunships then strafe the supply depot with rockets blowing it up but accidentally setting a passing U.S. Navy
Patrol BoatPatrol Boat, River , or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until the end of 1971...
on fire when the sampan explodes, killing all the crewmen.
After the battle, Eriksson wakes up in a hospital. Meserve and the squad cover up the murder but Eriksson refuses to let the secret die. He jeopardizes both his life and military career (thanks in large part to indifferent superiors, who prefer to bury the matter) to expose the crime. Eventually, an attempt on Eriksson's life is made by Clarke, who tries to
fragIn the U.S. military, fragging refers to the act of attacking a superior officer in one's chain of command with the intent to kill that officer. The term originated during the Vietnam War and was most commonly used to mean the assassination of an unpopular officer of one's own fighting unit...
Eriksson while he is using the
bathroomA bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
. Eriksson takes action by confronting Meserve and his men, and using a
shovelA shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
,
strikesA strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...
Clarke across the face, scaring the rest of the men and informing Meserve that he "told everyone and they don't care", Meserve calls him "dinky dow" (crazy in
VietnameseVietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
) before Eriksson exits the tent. There is an investigation and the four men who participated in the rape and murder are court martialed: Meserve receives ten years
hard laborHard Labor is the eleventh album by American rock band Three Dog Night, released in 1974 .- Cover Artwork :The original album cover, depicting of the birth of a record album , was deemed too controversial and was soon reworked with a huge bandage covering the "birth". The cover also includes an...
and a dishonorable discharge, Clarke is sentenced to life in prison,
PrivateA Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
Herbert Hatcher receives fifteen years hard labor, Diaz receives eight years hard labor. As the four exit the court room, Meserve whispers something in Eriksson's ear, most likely a threat suggesting what Meserve might do to Eriksson once he is free from the
stockadeA stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
.
At the end of the movie, Eriksson wakens from a nightmare (apparently a
flashbackFlashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
of all the audience has just seen) to find himself on a
MUNIThe San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
J-Church in San Francisco, just a few seats from a Vietnamese-American student (also played by Thuy Thu Le) who resembles the murdered girl. She disembarks at Dolores Park and forgets her scarf, and Ericksson runs after her to return it. As she thanks him and turns away, he calls after her in Vietnamese. She surmises that she reminds him of someone, and adds, "You had a bad dream, didn't you? It's over now, I think. Ciào." They go their separate ways, Eriksson somewhat comforted.
Aftermath for the real soldiers
Of the real sentenced soldiers their characters were based on, one (Private Herbert Hatcher) was
acquittedIn the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
on
appealAn appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
after it was determined that his
Fifth AmendmentThe Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
rights were violated, and his confessions were ruled inadmissible. Another's sentence (Private Antonio Diaz) was shortened to 22 months. The Corporal and Sergeant's sentences were reduced to eight years, with the possibility of parole after 4 years.
The real name of the girl whom they victimized was Pham thi Mao. Her ordeal began on 18 November 1966 and ended the next day with her death on 19 November.
Cast
- Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
as Sergeant Tony Meserve
- Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
as Private Max Eriksson
- Don Harvey
Donald Patrick Harvey II is an American actor and voice actor, known as Don Harvey.He was born and raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the sixth of eight children. He started acting in high school. He did several shows before graduating and moving on to the University of Michigan where he studied...
as Corporal Thomas E. Clarke
- John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
as Private Herbert Hatcher
- John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
as Private Antonio Diaz
- Thuy Thu Le
Thuy Thu Le is an American actress.-Biography:Thuy Thu Le was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. She was raised and educated in the United States, after her parents left Saigon during the Vietnam War. Thuy was only an infant at the time. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and...
as Oanh
- Erik King
Erik King is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Doakes on Showtime's television series Dexter.-Early life:King attended Morehouse College, where he won a varsity letter in track and field and graduated summa cum laude. For his honors thesis, he adapted the 1985 film...
as Specialist 4th Class "Brownie" Brown
- Jack Gwaltney as Rowan
- Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
as Lieutenant Reilly
- Dan Martin as Hawthorne
- Dale Dye
Dale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
as Captain Hill
- Steve Larson
Steve Larson is the former lead guitarist for Lime Green, Dead Hot Workshop , Dialectrics, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers , and now plays in his own band, Steve Larson Band....
as First Agent
- John Linton as Second Agent
- Vyto Ruginis
Vyto Ruginis is an American actor known for playing a vampire, Russell Winters, in the cult TV series Angel in its first episode, "City Of", as well as for his appearances in CSI, House MD, The X-Files, ER, Law & Order and other television programs.Vyto has appeared in such films as "Devils...
as Prosecutor
- Al Shannon as Wilkins
- Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
as MacIntire
- Sam Robards
Sam Prideaux Robards is an American actor.-Life and career:Robards was born in New York City, the son of actors Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall. He began his acting career in 1980 in an off-Broadway production of Album, and made his feature film debut in director Paul Mazursky's 1982 film Tempest....
as Chaplain Kirk
- Maris Valainis
Maris Valainis is an American construction consultant and a former actor, best known for his role in the 1986 film Hoosiers, in which he played the character of Jimmy Chitwood, a basketball player who makes a last-second shot to win the Indiana state high school championship...
as Streibig
- Darren E. Burrows
Darren E. Burrows is an American Actor / Director.Burrows was born in Winfield, Kansas, the son of actor Billy Drago. Burrows is best known for playing Ed Chigliak in the television series Northern Exposure...
as Cherry
- Sherman Howard
Howard Lee Sherman is an American actor.-Theatre:In 1989 he appeared at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. He played the title role in Hamlet and Malvolio in Twelfth Night...
as Court Martial President
- John Marshall Jones
John Marshall Jones is an American actor and director. He is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He is perhaps best known as Floyd Henderson from the TV series Smart Guy...
as M.P.
- Holt McCallany
Holt McCallany is an Irish American actor, writer, and producer working primarily in film and television.-Early life:...
as Lieutenant Kramer
- Kady Tran as Yen
- Scott Gregory
Scott Gregory was an American ice dancer. He competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics with Elisa Spitz. He then paired with Suzanne Semanick, with whom he won the gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships twice and competed at the Olympics in 1988...
as First Soldier Charlie
- Ennalls Berl as Second Soldier Charlie
- Vinh Tran as V.C. Interpreter
- Somsak as ARVN Interpreter
- Hataya Sarmount as Girl Villager
- Ba Thuan T. Le as Oahn's Mother
- Nootch as Child Villager
- Kwan
Kwan may refer to:*Kwan is a Chinese surname.*Kwan , Finnish musical group*Kwan, martial arts term*Kwan, a Kini.Kini.Rock music by Amomoai.Notable People*Nancy Kwan , Chinese-American actress...
as Child Villager
- J. Chalerm as Old Farmer
- Sigma
Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the 'S' sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used, e.g...
as Female Villager
- Po Powpi as Old Villager
- Shaun Shea as Soldier
- Kristopher Dunn as Soldier
- Donal Gibson
Donal Gibson is an American actor, and younger brother of award-winning actor and director Mel Gibson.Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York. Donal has done voice acting in shows like ReBoot and Justice League Unlimited...
as Soldier
- Shane Kerwin as Soldier
- Niran
Niran is a kibbutz and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley near Jericho, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 80, 30 of whom were new arrivals....
as V.C. In Tunnel
- Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
as Soldier
- Stefan Ehlers as Sergeant Fuller
- Michael D. Jones
Michael Daniel Jones was a Welsh Congregationalist minister and principal of a theological college, but is best remembered as a founder of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia known as Y Wladfa and as one of the fathers of modern Welsh nationalism.Jones was born in Llanuwchllyn, Merioneth in 1822...
as Passenger On Train
- Jonathan MacLeod as Soldier
- Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
as Voice of girl on the train (uncredited)
Locations
- The bridge location was filmed in Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi ) is a town in the west of Thailand and the capital of Kanchanaburi province. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327...
, ThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. This was the same location where the famous Bridge on the River Kwai is located.
Awards
Wins
- Political Film Society
The Political Film Society is a nonprofit corporation that exists to recognize Hollywood films' ability to raise awareness in political matters in the world. Film makers are the ones who are awarded by this organization...
: PFS Award; Peace; 1990.
Nominations
- Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Original Score - Motion Picture Ennio Morricone; 1990.
- Motion Picture Sound Editors
Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks, and improve the professional relationship of its...
: Golden Reel Award; Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects; Maurice Schell; 1990.