Any action can be performed in three main ways: right, wrong and military. This old aphorism is recalled when watching the blockbuster "All-metal shell", released on screens in the distant 1986.
The theme of the Vietnam War is adequately covered by Western cinema. The viewer, even born and raised after graduation, can judge the general atmosphere by films that have become classics, such as Apocalypse Today or Platoon. Jungle, helmets in cloth covers, napalm, music by Nancy Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Dorz and Credence bands. Partisans opening fire from the thicket at the most unexpected moment. Helicopters taking out the dead in plastic bags and bleeding wounded. This whole cocktail is crowned with an atmosphere of cruelty and hopelessness.
The film “All-metal shell” is no exception. 2 hours of screen time is filled with suffering and violence.
The very first frames introduce the viewer to the characters whom the army hairdresser cuts “to zero”. A country-style composition sounds with the words "Goodbye, my dear, and hello, Vietnam." The guys are different, but they have something in common. These young soldiers grew up in a prosperous country, they have no life experience, and for the most part they are not used to thinking a lot. In practice, this is the ideal raw material for the army.
Director Stanley Kubrick divides the movie “Full Metal Shell” into two parts of approximately equal duration. This technique is also characteristic of his other films (“Mechanical Orange”, “Radiance”).
The first part describes the preparation of future marines in a training camp. Senior Sergeant Hartman formulates the goal of the training: young people should become murder weapons. The process is hard. One of the cadets, a good-natured and not-so-distracted laziness who suddenly discovered the talent of a shooter in himself, goes crazy, kills the commander, and then himself, clearly demonstrating the successful learning of the lessons learned.
The second part is devoted to hostilities. The all - metal shell of the bullet into which the lead is poured is a symbol of this war, unusual and absurd. One of the main characters becomes a war correspondent, but he often has to fight along with ordinary soldiers. The inscription “born to kill” on his helmet is adjacent to the anti-war badge on the lapel of the jacket. The commander indicates the absurdity of such a combination, and the hero slurredly explains this with philosophical terms.
A soldier firing from a machine gun, leaning out of the door of the helicopter. He boasts that he killed many "cross-eyed", and even their buffalo, and asks to write about him.
Here is a partisan raid on a military base in Da Nang, explosions are heard, equipment is burning, indiscriminate shooting is visible. No one knows where the enemy is, but everyone scorches anywhere.
The heroes of the film "All-metal shell" complain of a complete misunderstanding of the surrounding reality. The Vietnamese whom they came to defend against the Communists, it turns out, have no sympathy for them. American soldiers do not like this country where "there is not a single horse." At the same time, some of them admit that the people they have to kill are the best soldiers.
The final of the movie "The All-Metal Shell" becomes its culmination. The Vietnamese girl sniper, who finally manages to shoot, asks the soldiers to finish her off. Opinions on this subject are divided. One of the "ji-ai" wants to leave her for rats to eat. The correspondent shoots the partisan, rendering her the last favor. Everyone understands the outcome of this war.
Apparently, Stanley Kubrick himself could not imagine how modern his film will be in the 21st century.