The film, ‘Apocalypse Now' is a 1979 American movie, which bases its settings In the Vietnam War. The film draws its plot and characters from the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, an explorer of the Congo, who puts down his experiences in the heart of Africa. The film and the novel both emphasize on the native savages depicting the latter as objects rather than human beings whose character deserve an exploration just like other characters. This essay reviews the ‘Apocalypse Now' film based on the differences and similarities between the film and the novel on which it draws its plot from.
Looking into the themes of the Apocalypse film, several themes surface and resurface throughout the film. The main theme drawn from Conrad's book is the theme of the hypocrisy of imperialism as well as the theme of madness. The Europeans, concealing themselves as agents of colonization, subject Africans to unfathomable horrors. Africans in Conrad's book are but mere objects which appear to act as directed by the white people (Conrad, 37). Mr. Kurtz settles amongst the Africans as a demigod, manipulating the Africans to act as he demands and even at some point, ordering their extermination. The same theme is adopted into the film where the Americans in the Vietnam war gain power over the natives and uses it against them The natives are in the film considered savages who are easily manipulated, and whose lives do not matter. Kurtz orders "Drop the bomb, exterminate them all" to show the extent of which the life of the native does not count, and one less native would not make any difference.
The theme of madness is also drawn from the book Heart of Darkness. Just like Africa is considered the cause for Mr. Kurtz madness, so is Vietnam considered the cause for Kurtz insanity in the film. Assumingly, had the characters not ventured into Africa and Asia respectively, they would have remained sane. The involvement with the native tribes fuels up the insanity and causes Mr. Kurtz to witness horrors only known to him. His last words before he dies are ‘The Horror! The Horror!"
The settings in the book Heart of Darkness revolve around the Congo. Charles Marlow narrates his story while at the deep of the Congo and having a firsthand experience with the natives of the land. Similarly, in the film, the setting is in Vietnam, and the natives make up part of the plot. They are however described only from a distance, and the writer does not take his time to know them. The narrator is more interested in their savage ways and uses that to spice up his experience. This savageness is made evident from Kurtz utterances to Willard citing the aftermath of a polio vaccination on the native children “we went back there and they had come and hacked off every arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms.”
The adaptation of the book into the film comes with the presence of many fictional characters who were absent in the book. This is perhaps to create a more exciting plot and put it into motion pictures. Characters such as Lieutenant Bill Kilgore and Chief Quartermaster Mr. Clan Miller and Colonel G. Lucas do not appear in the book. The film creates a wide range of characters to fit with its length and to increase viewership. It further intensifies the real life experiences of the soldiers in the Vietnam War through the experiences of Willard and other soldiers. Willard speaks to other soldiers about the effect of the war on him- “I’d wake up and there would be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife until I said a ‘yes’ to a divorce.” Whenever I was there I wanted to be here and whenever I was here, I wanted to be there.” (Milius and Conrad, 173). The only characters who appear in the book from the film are Benjamin Willard as Charles Marlow and Mr. Kurtz, who retains his name and character in the film.
The first person's point of view in the film is portrayed through the character Willard who is sent to exterminate Mr. Kurtz. His journey involves a lot of setbacks emancipating from the members of his team. He encounters the natives on a one on one experience and is involved in the actual killing of Mr. Kurtz. The film bases its plot on the experiences of Benjamin Willard. The book, on the other hand, is based on the narrations of Charles Marlow aboard a ship. The audience is the people on the ship who are taken to Marlow's world and Mr. Kurtz word through the narrations of Charles Marlow. Both narrators agree on the lack of intelligence and savageness of the natives. The film further intensifies the darkness in the book through motion pictures, making it further easier to believe.
Both the film and the book are depictions of a deeply enriched culture of the natives in the book. The book goes deep down in History to a time when the Europeans had begun to explore the African continent. The savageness is however carried forward into the heart of Vietnam one century later. The film emphasizes on the clash between two divergent cultures, with one assuming superiority over the other. The Americans Assume superiority over the natives in Vietnam terming their culture as evil and barbaric.
The transmission of Conrad's magnum opus into motion pictures has added a lot of flavor to the book. The diversity of characters in the film intensifies the message the film is supposed to portray. The book can be considered boring owing to a one man's speech, which is from time to time interrupted by the happenings in the man's environment. The film, therefore, recreates the concepts portrayed in the book, making them realistic and interesting.
Elements of the film
The lighting in the film is fair. This may be due to the machines used in production at the time. The film industry was by then devoid of high quality technological devices, which would bring about clearer motion pictures (Geiger and Rutsky, 194). The actors are relevant with the roles that they play. Mr. Kurtz, the mad man, plays his role rather too well and gives the audience an insight into the character portrayed in the book. Willard, on the other hand, acts as the main character and guides the audience through the film through his personal experiences. The other fictional characters spice up the film and prevent the incidence of monotony. The theme of the hypocrisy of imperialism is evident through the mistreatment of the natives in the film. They are killed, enslaved and are perceived as objects throughout the film. The film portrays the message of the existence of good and evil. The evil is brought to the surface through the lives of the natives to which the evil is aimed at. Willard himself is set to and eventually slays Kurtz. He considers Kurtz a mad man who has done enough evils and for that reason, his killing is justifiable.
Wrapping it up, the film ‘Apocalypse Now' is a screen version of the book Heart of Darkness. The film sheds more light on the lives of the natives of Vietnam and brings to life the book Heart of Darkness. The darkness, in this case, is seen through the culture of the natives, and it is this darkness that causes madness to the Kurtz character in both the film and the book. The film's aim is to portray two conflicting cultures, and the damage was done when one culture assumes superiority over the other (Milius and Conrad).
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart Of Darkness. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library, 1996. Print.
Geiger, Jeffrey and R. L Rutsky. Film Analysis. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. Print.
Milius, John and Joseph Conrad. "Apocalypse Now". San Francisco: American Zestrace, 1969. Print.
