'Born on the Fourth of July': Heartbreaking but misguided
1990Bob Davis 1990-01Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 19 →
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18 SOCIALIST ACTION JANUARY 1990 Born on the Fourth of July, a film by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic.
In spite of some serious dramatic and political weaknesses, "Born on the Fourth of July" is the most powerful film yet about Movie Review the Vietnam War. I almost never cry at movies. Several times during this film, I was literally sobbing.
The plot and message of "Fourth" are neither new nor complex. A young man (Kovic) goes off to war believing in his country; he returns paralyzed from the chest down and gradually loses his patriotic beliefs. Thus, his sacrifice was meaningless.
Unfortunately, in this viewer's eyes, Kovic's political transformation is dealt with too vaguely. It's unclear if he is changed beC 71 ON sands take to tre soo We mane back alley ster LATOE SUPPO THESE PORKE cause of his traumatic war experiences, by the lack of support for vets at home, by his girlfriend, or by the police brutality he finds himself mixed up in. Thus on screen, Kovic Name Addre never really comes to grips with the basic immorality of U.S. imperialism.
True, his experiences are vividly rendered, and a viewer who already under: tands the I 16 months for $4.
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