Apocalypse Now

Are you an animal, a god, or both? Coppola plays God with the instruments of war and death, giving humans the power to transcend their brutish, violent subconscious. God has given the animals surfboards, guns, helicopters—they travel down the river of insanity, of the world, the horror of Western life; the biggest nothing war of all time. The shadows of death, paranoia and desire permeate each drastic frame. An insane, visionary, realistic quest into the American corrupted heart of violent darkness, achieved in an immersive, apocalyptic picture. War is played out after each belligerent set piece. The smoking colors, sprawling shots of wide, conquering arrogance. Timeless. The use of lighting in the film—from flares, guns, and beams— it sets and immerses you in a cathartic, metallic, poetically controlled mess of war. Light is shone on the extremity of humanity. Everything is primal, human, with no leaders or God's left to give order to chaos. Marlon Brando's poetic improvisation is haunting. The three-act structure leads to a cerebral ending for humanity. His unsoundness is an amalgam of the inoculated state of the world. Its apocalypse, the choice Charlie faces as the sole survivor, the new messiah at the end of the river: despite our nature do we keep fighting. A one of a kind film. The effects and acting became so engulfing to the very soul. 9.8/10.