I wanted to watch this movie, hoping for something along the lines of "The Man who wanted to be King". I also enjoyed Nick Nolte's work in some of his movies. And I have a personal connection to Indonesia.
So what did I think of this movie? It wasn't awful, but I feel like it could have been a lot more. For one, all the actors seem to be unable to speak decent Indonesian (they all have an accent). Also, this form of Indonesian didn't exist until the Independence of Indonesia. But that's something I could accept. What made this movie a bit of a disappointment to me was how it seemed to sort of crawl along, only to rush over other parts. Apparently, there was also a scene with the Japanese general Mitamura (the leader of the phantom brigade) that was cut from the final movie (at least it wasn't in my version) in which he and Leroy meet. Mitamura explains why he did what he did (duty, hunger) and that he has a great deal of respect for Leroy. Knowing this would have explained why he became a part of Leroy's entourage and I also didn't know he was executed. Showing some humanity on the Japanese side would have been a good idea in my opinion, since we only get to see the Japanese as seemingly monstrous, but I actually felt bad for them. They were in a foreign territory, abandoned by their command, fighting to survive. Of course they committed horrible crimes in Borneo, but it's not like the British or Dutch were a lot better (and actually, the Japanese aided greatly in the Indonesian independence, albeit out of selfish motives by training local men to form a militia, which became the basis of the TNI(Indonesian army).
Maybe this movie could have been better if it had been a bit longer, more focused on the tribe and the people and less about the Empire. At least it doesn't glorify them.
All in all, the movie is an ok watch, but more of a good B-movie that tries for something it can't quite achieve. It still gets points for being quite touching at points and Nolte seems to do a decent job with what he's given.
So what did I think of this movie? It wasn't awful, but I feel like it could have been a lot more. For one, all the actors seem to be unable to speak decent Indonesian (they all have an accent). Also, this form of Indonesian didn't exist until the Independence of Indonesia. But that's something I could accept. What made this movie a bit of a disappointment to me was how it seemed to sort of crawl along, only to rush over other parts. Apparently, there was also a scene with the Japanese general Mitamura (the leader of the phantom brigade) that was cut from the final movie (at least it wasn't in my version) in which he and Leroy meet. Mitamura explains why he did what he did (duty, hunger) and that he has a great deal of respect for Leroy. Knowing this would have explained why he became a part of Leroy's entourage and I also didn't know he was executed. Showing some humanity on the Japanese side would have been a good idea in my opinion, since we only get to see the Japanese as seemingly monstrous, but I actually felt bad for them. They were in a foreign territory, abandoned by their command, fighting to survive. Of course they committed horrible crimes in Borneo, but it's not like the British or Dutch were a lot better (and actually, the Japanese aided greatly in the Indonesian independence, albeit out of selfish motives by training local men to form a militia, which became the basis of the TNI(Indonesian army).
Maybe this movie could have been better if it had been a bit longer, more focused on the tribe and the people and less about the Empire. At least it doesn't glorify them.
All in all, the movie is an ok watch, but more of a good B-movie that tries for something it can't quite achieve. It still gets points for being quite touching at points and Nolte seems to do a decent job with what he's given.