Review

Review Date: 10-August-03
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Buffalo Soldiers (2003)

Ahh, this is how I like 'em: tightly woven, stylishly directed, and cynical as hell. I can see why "Buffalo Soldiers" didn't come out in fall 2001 as planned, due to the terrorist attacks in New York and DC and the burst of patriotic fervor that followed. The movie offers a viciously satirical look at a chaotic US Army base and a hero whose nihilistic streak is matched only by his cunning.

Joaquin Phoenix delivers a fantastic performance as Ray Elwood, a former car thief who accepted the government's offer to join the Army to avoid serving a prison sentence. Now stationed in Germany in 1989, he continues his life's mission of looking out for Number One by selling stolen military supplies on the black market and cooking up drugs in the basement of one of the compound buildings. His shenanigans go completely undetected by his dopey superior (Ed Harris), whose wife (Elizabeth McGovern) he happens to be shagging, so life is pretty good for Ray. Good, that is, until one day Fate puts bigger game in his sights in the form of several million dollars' worth of misplaced weapons, which discovery occurs simultaneously with the arrival of a tough new First Sergeant (Scott Glenn) and his attractive daughter (Anna Paquin). Thereafter Ray, who has always remained neutral by reason of not giving a crap, finds himself actually involved in a war of his own making, just as the Berlin Wall crumbles and the world is forever changed around him.

Certain characters and scenes in "Buffalo Soldiers" are familiar from other movies, but overall it achieves a gritty life of its own. On the one hand, it's a dark comedy with some amusing moments involving wit, deception, or plain old stupidity, but on the other hand, there's quite a bit of violence, and the stupidity is only funny if you can convince yourself that it's completely fictional. There's also a definite message just under the surface of the story, suggested in Ray's early voice over comment that "peace is boring," his later quoting of Nietzsche to the effect that man will always generate warfare to keep himself occupied, and the tie-in with the fall of the Berlin Wall. This event means nothing whatsoever to the men of Ray's battalion (many of whom are not sure where Berlin is); they have always believed that there is no great evil against which to battle, as there was in their fathers' and grandfathers' day, and have therefore focused their energies on crime, drugs, and plays for personal power. The movie suggests that the noble warrior does not exist anymore: our front lines are filled with fools and societal outcasts, our leaders' motives are unclear, and while we still need something to fight against, we haven't a clue what that is.

As with many dark comedies, "Buffalo Soldiers" shies away from being completely bleak by featuring a charismatic rogue as the star, who embodies all the cynicism and waywardness of the other characters while still maintaining a degree of warmth and vulnerability. (Ray bears faint traces of Hawkeye Pierce, except the still has evolved into a heroin lab.) The movie begins with Ray's recurring nightmare of falling, which immediately introduces him as a man with both hopes and fears, and softens him as much as his subsequent romance with the First Sergeant's daughter. (The love story, though predictable, works well: Phoenix switches from calloused to smitten with amazing ease, and Paquin reins in her usually painful and overreaching mannerisms enough to be almost endearing.) Ray's relationships with his buddies (Michael Pena and Leon) and his apparently naive new roommate (Gabriel Mann) also shed some light on the limits of his apathy. While you can't actually cheer for the star, as the drama escalates you find yourself wishing that he could just be left alone to continue his own little anarchistic existence — especially since, judging by the other freaks around him, he could be a lot worse.

"Buffalo Soldiers" has a sharp look, a well blended soundtrack, and a brisk pace; it's clearly the result of real talent and careful effort. We can only guess if its young director, Gregor Jordan, would be the toast of the town today had this film come out two years ago, when the notion of "our boys" all dressed up with nowhere to go (and no reason to be there) might have found a bigger audience. Regardless, this is an often funny, sometimes disturbing, always gripping movie that deserves to be seen for its quality if not for its immediacy.

Copyright © 2003 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.