Often, when I look out at the people of Cannes – whether citizens, tourists, conventioneers, émigrés, etc. – I think that they, and what they represent in terms of lifestyle, would cause Mikhail Bakunin (or the anglicized Michael Bakunin) to shout angrily from his grave that that is what he was always talking about, or more precisely, ranting about!

Rue d’ Antibes in Cannes.

Bakunin was one of the Russian architects of the political doctrine of anarchism; along with Alexander Herzen and Prince Peter Kroptokin during the mid to the latter part of the 19th century.

If Herzen was the real philosopher of the movement and Kroptokin the perfect example of “the conscience-stricken noble,” then Michael Bakunin was its “heart and soul” – furiously propagating its message of destruction and equality throughout Europe from barricade to barricade; from the Paris Commune to the Swiss University in Berne, where he ended his days in 1876. 

I did some pretty serous research concerning his revolutionary ideas at one time and he came to mind again to-day in an interesting way I think.

War in Iraq.

It has been now clearly established that the current war in Iraq was begun based upon erroneous or false evidence and once begun, bungled badly. To-day I finished “Fiasco – the U.S. Military Adventure in Iraq” by Thomas E. Rick; a military historian – and while it was certainly “preaching to the choir” in my case, I was still stunned by it!

Known widely as the definitive analysis, so far, of this ill-fated war, it paints an extraordinary and unflattering picture of the gaggle of neocons who were allowed to get us all into it but then to prosecute it and its aftermath in an utterly singular and incompetent manner. 

These individuals, among others, are Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Donald Rumsfield. The President, it appears, dumbly followed their advice and counsel.

But for the purposes of “Report from Cannes,” what I think is really interesting is the similarity of thinking between the neocons and Bakunin.

Michael Bakunin loudly and with indefatigable élan preached his doctrine of anarchism which posited a just and fair society of equals that would naturally evolve out of the destruction of the old. When pushed to elaborate the precise nature of this “new society,” he would call upon the mystical, and mythical really, tradition of the Russian peasantry which “magically” held that, if left alone, they would naturally evolve into a pure and leaderless society of equals. 

But, when students or opponents would debate this “fairy tale” idea, he would retreat ultimately into a position which held that destruction of the old (what is) is the ultimate goal of the anarchist and that a better society would “naturally” happen as long as the anarchist is ever vigilant and always ready to destroy!

The much romanticized Russian peasants.

What has happened in Iraq is that the civilian leaders of the war (the neocons) had no plan (not even an incoherent one for the reconstruction of Iraqi society after the destruction of the one led and controlled by Saddam Hussein. They are on record as saying that the people will naturally regroup to form a democratic (therefore just) society in the wake of the destruction of the Baathist totalitarian regime. 

Bakunin, I am sure, is applauding them from his grave – Wolfowitz and his crowd are not neocons but neoanarchos!

The movie – “Apocalypse Now Redux!” – and for a novel – “The Road” by Cormae McCarthy.

Movie Review:

Apocalypse Now - Redux

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, and Robert Duvall

 

The “redux” version of the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now” runs 55 minutes longer and adds another masterpiece to the oeuvre of Mr. Coppola. Such triumphs as “The Godfather,” Parts I and II as well as “The Conversation” ensure his presence in the pantheon of the great artists of the 20th century!

From my point of view, I marvel at the utter magnificence of the marriage of vision and technical prowess, not to mention the sheer audacity of the entire undertaking which was plagued by one disaster after another including the heart attack of Martin Sheen in the middle of production. Always on the verge of bankruptcy, Coppola “gutted” it out, stayed true to his challenging idea (basing the movie’s story and philosophy on Joseph Conrad’s 19th century novel “Heart of Darkness”) as well as allowing his actors (principally Brando) and his technical crew to give it their all!

Thus, “Apocalypse Now – Redux” is a staggering contribution to the understanding and appreciation of the art of the motion picture. For me, this film is difficult to comment upon in the whole for it is so complex and intricate – from the hallucinatory images and colors to the music and sound; all encompassing timeless ideas and moral paradoxes.

Brando and Coppola discussing the final scenes.

It is, on one level, a straightforward “quest” story – the odyssey of Captain Jonathan Willard up a dark and dangerous river into Cambodia to find the rogue Special Forces Colonel Walter Kurtz and to assassinate him.

Along the way, there are many spectacular adventures in keeping with the tradition of the mythic journey. But, for the purposes of these notes, I’m going to keep my comments to the purpose of the quest – Kurtz – and to the discovery that Willard ultimately makes. The former makes the movie very enjoyable indeed but it is Kurtz and his meaning to Willard, and us, that makes it important.

Kurtz standing at the doorway of his quarters.

Kurtz, played by a gigantic Marlon Brando in probably the last great role of his defining and outstanding career, is a West Point “wunderkind” who was slated for the very top - the Chiefs of Staff. He had achieved an MA from Harvard as well with his thesis being written on “Battling the Phillipine Insurgency” after the U.S. had invaded the islands at the turn of the twentieth century. About this very event, William James, an American philosopher, wrote in 1903:

“The transformation of native friendliness to execration; the demoralization of our army, from the war office down – forgery decorated, torture whitewashed, massacre condoned, the creation of a chronic anarchy — the deliberate inflaming on our part of ancient tribal animosities — these things, I say, are clearly foretold.”

Sound familiar?

As he began his tour in Vietnam, he performed brilliantly as expected. However, he saw the fatal flaw in his country’s approach to the war – in his view, it was a half-measured effort; certainly compared to the Vietcong, who were nationalist patriots fighting a war of liberation. In one of his dramatic monologues in the presence of Captain Jonathan Willard, his assassin, he recounts a story of when he and his men went into a small South Vietnamese village to inoculate the children against polio. Upon conclusion of the mission and during the returning to base Kurtz and his men were beseeched by a village elder to come back.

What they saw upon their return was that the Vietcong had immediately descended upon the village to hack off all the young, inoculated arms and left them in a neat pile in the center of the village. This terrible act, while initially overpowering the emotions of Kurtz, led him to discover the implacable and terrible resolve of the enemy. This, in turn, led Kurtz to increasingly “go off the reservation” and to lead rogue forays and missions that, while effective, were increasingly defiant and unauthorized. Eventually this process led Kurtz to cross into Cambodia with a rag-tag army of American deserters and Montagnard warriors – to operate independently and as violently and as mercilessly as his foes. He was playing out in a small way, his assertion that if he had ten divisions of such fighting men as those of the North Vietnamese, the war would be won quickly.

When Willard arrives at Kurtz’s compound it is a nightmarish mise en scene of skulls, decapitated heads strewn about and stuck on poles as well as dead bodies hanging from the trees – blood and destruction of the most unimaginable nature everywhere! Truly a Hieronymus Bosch-like vision of Hell brought to the motion picture screen.

Arriving at the Kurtz compound — a vision of hell on earth.

In his encounters with Kurtz, Willard learns that the rogue Colonel is ill, mad and, in the understanding of that, is ready to die. What Kurtz requests of Willard is that he explain to his son that he was doing his duty as he saw it and that, in so doing, crossed over into permanent residency in the realm of the “dark side.” Upon the occasion of his brutal execution at the hands of Willard, the officially sanctioned assassin, his last words, delivered with his dying breath, were – as in Conrad’s novella – “the horror — the horror.”

Of course, this is the point of the entire exercise; the quest – what do we and Willard learn about Vietnam, war and, of course, us?

In “Heart of Darkness” the Willard character was named Marlow and he reflected upon the meaning of Kurtz’s last words:

“This is the reason why I affirm that Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say. He said it. Since I had peeped over the edge myself, I understand better the meaning of his stare, that could not see the flame of the candle, but was wide enough to embrace the whole universe, piercing enough to penetrate all the hearts that beat in the darkness. He had summed up – he had judged. ‘The horror!’ He was a remarkable man. —- And perhaps in this is the whole difference; perhaps all the wisdom, and all truth, and all sincerity, are just compressed into that inappreciable moment of time in which we step over the threshold of the invisible. —- It was an affirmation, a moral victory paid for by innumerable defeats, by abominable terrors, by abominable satisfactions. But it was a victory!”

"The horror….. The horror."

So Marlow saw Joseph Conrad’s Kurtz as achieving victory in his embracing of the dark – but, what about Coppola’s Willard? What does he think upon the completion of his deadly mission?

Jonathan Willard, an official government assassin with at least seven executions to his credit (although in his mind, he is a soldier), comes away from his successful mission a changed man. Like Marlow, in “Heart of Darkness,” he steps back from the abyss that swallowed Kurtz. Willard drops his bloody machete and leaves the Kurtz tribe/army leaderless who, in turn, drop their weapons.

Leaving Kurtz’s temple he picks up his memoirs – presumably to take them to his son as requested. As he leafs through them he sees a large, handwritten annotation stating “Drop the bomb – exterminate them all.”

Willard leaving the temple, after the execution of Kurtz.

If war is the final move in the art of diplomacy, then nuclear weaponry is the final move in the art of war – and, for most of us, completely insane! And this is where Kurtz had gone; into a world of savagery and evil. 

In John Milton’s two epic poems “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Regained” the struggle between the forces of Satan and those of God, led by Michael the Archangel, is perilously close. And the war continues between good and evil or the light and the dark if you prefer.

This clash within the hearts and souls of all of us does not end – the story remains the same – and “Apocalypse Now – Redux” expresses this “ecstatic truth” with astonishing power and clarity.

The stunning achievement of Francis Ford Coppola along with his cast and crew is to render this vision appealing, alluring – even strangely beautiful. But so was Milton’s Satan!

In a restored scene, a French planter explains why they fought the forces of colonial liberation. Hubert says that his family, and others, belonged there – that they built the country, imported the rubber trees and started industries. But, he asserts, they were finally defeated at Dien Bien Phu by the Vietnamese determination to be independent and by political betrayal in Paris.

Hubert, the French planter.

Then, he asks of Willard, "Why are you here?" "You Americans are fighting for the greatest…nothing…in the history of the world." And this is what Wolfowitz and his crowd of “neoanarchos” are getting us into again! Although I suppose oil and the continued existence of Israel are at least solid reasons for the bungling of the war in Iraq! 

But, I digress. The point is that, as a species, we have the capacity to both love and hate, with all of their attending actions. Never have I seen a film that so points this out.

“Apocalypse Now – Redux,” at over three hours long, is available in a new, digitally remastered, two disc set. I got mine from Amazon.

Footnote: Marlon Brando, in his autobiography, states that he “lost himself” in that role more than any other – and I kind of understand it because I’m losing myself trying to talk about such ideas! However, why not? These are the biggest questions of all and have been wrestled with forever and by infinitely greater minds than mine.