Apocalypse Now is one of the most renowned films int he history of cinema. The Vietnam War and the horror soldiers delved into. The story is narrated by the main character Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) who is on a misson to assassinate a colonel who went rogue (Marlon Brando). He journies through the jungle on a boat manned by some rookie marines while facing countless challenges before even arriving at the colonel’s grounds. This story is not an average war film since it has to do with one mission that begins to question the ideals of war and man itself. Colonel Kurtz is not a macabre or seemingly violent man. He seems humble with his own ideals in mind. The world he has been raised into was of high authority being that he had some of the highest credentials someone in the military could ever have including even a degree from Harvard.
When Willard meets Kurtz, he is imprisoned briefly but is allowed to walk the grounds as he pleases soon after. Kurtz question him about his mission and even though he releases minimal information, the colonel lets him do as he pleases. The only statement that restricted Willard of anything his accusing him of being a murderer.
I’ve seen horrors… horrors that you’ve seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that… but you have no right to judge me.
-Colonel Kurtz
Not only does Kurtz show no hate toward Willard for wanted to kill him, he actually wishes it. Kurtz wants to die and for Willard to tell everyone about his lies and deception. The idea that humanity must be moral yet vicious strikes Willard as the idea of true warfare cannot be achieved by brutality but through human instincts. Everyone has a right to do what must be done for survival of themselves and their families. Now his methodology was clearly unique and obscure, but can be understood in a modern and enlightened sense. War is rarely a sensible option and Kurtz understands the “horror” of war and recollects on the monstrous acts performed in his time. So this is more of a question to all of you than a blatant analysis. Do you think Kurtz truly saw an opportunity to lead in a true and pure way? Or do you think he was a monster who just wished the downfall of the United States. Comment down below!
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