Full Metal Jacket
Okay, I admit that I could not resist writing about this movie. I know this is not the first time that my blogging backlog is full of films and other things I wanted to blog about, but then cast away everything for one of these movies that I have found mind-blowing. Now, perhaps this was not a mind-blowing experience as „Donnie Darko“ or „Huo Zhe“ were, but it comes damn close.
I have this bad habit of looking up beforehand what a movie is about, because I want to know what I will be watching. However, the positive surprise that a „Donnie Darko“ or a „25th Hour“ can give me is only possible when I don’t know much about the film beforehand at all. „Full Metal Jacket“ was such a case. I knew it’s some Vietnam war movie, but that’s all. And damn, this felt like „Jarhead“ all over, only better. Before seeing M*A*S*H, „Jarhead“ was the only war movie I have ever approved of, and now there is another item on the list.
By the way, I find it a little sad how American soldiers watch this movie before going to war. (It saddens me even more that they run through Iraq with the same music I used to listen to when I was younger.) Then again, I cannot understand anybody who seriously believes in either war or communism.
What can I say, this movie has everything; it’s funny, it has gorgeous characters, it’s extremely suspenseful, serious and dramatic at times. And last but not least, it’s wonderfully directed. I cannot see one single drawback of this movie, except maybe that it doesn’t have one single continuous storyline and ends a little too quickly for your average moviegoers’ mind. The movie is kind of strange indeed, but nevertheless, I cannot see anyone dislike it.
I have never really cared about „Full Metal Jacket“ before, but I recognized many of its quotes. Especially the beginning of the movie felt so incredibly familiar („Come to my house and fuck my sister“, harr harr) although I had no clue that these quotes came from the movie. This is what I call a cult film.
So far, I have seen “Eyes Wide Shut” (liked it), “Lolita” (disliked it), “2001” (loved it) and a part of “A Clockwork Orange” (no opinion yet), but I think that “Full Metal Jacket” has good chances to becoming my all-time personal favorite Kubrick film.
Glad you liked it. It’s my favourite Kubrick film since it’s the most accessible/identifiable. Clockwork Orange is second for its stylish ultraviolence.
I think “A Clockwork Orange” is even deeper and a better movie, but “Full Metal Panic” will probably remain my favorite. Perhaps it really is because it’s such an accessible film as you said.