Film Review: Black Hawk Down (2001)

(source: tmdb.org)

9/11 is the event that changed the world mainly by removing the paradigm based on global perception of American invulnerability and omnipotence. However, even earlier there were events that were showing the limitations of American power, even when it was at its post-Cold War zenith. One such event, ironically, was later depicted in Black Hawk Down, a 2001 war film directed by Ridley Scott, nowadays often seen as an example of American militaristic and chauvinistic propaganda.

The plot is based on the eponymous book of journalist Mark Bowden, based on the articles he had written for the Philadelphia Inquirer and which covered the last chapters of US military intervention in Somalia. In 1993, a year after President George H. W. Bush had sent US Marines to help the UN deliver food and humanitarian aid to an African country ravaged by famine and civil war, the US military contingent in Mogadishu had slightly different priorities. They were about to establish permanent peace, and the largest impediment to that aim was a local clan led by Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his powerful militia. General Garrison (played by Sam Shepard) had brought elite US Army Ranger and Delta Force units, which, with the help of state-of-the-art technology, used their superior training to attack, eliminate, or imprison Aidid’s top officers. However, on October 3rd, one such operation, which originally targeted two of Aidid’s chief aides, went disastrously wrong when one of the helicopters was shot down by Somali militia. What was supposed to be a routine capture turned into a rescue mission, which became even more complicated when about a hundred elite US soldiers got surrounded by thousands of Somali militiamen and armed civilians. What was about to last for half an hour turned into a night-long battle for mere survival.

The most interesting thing and the most pleasant surprise in Black Hawk Down is Ridley Scott finally mastering the skill of properly directing action scenes after nearly a quarter of a century. And he really needed that skill in this film, because of the almost two and a half hours the running time, only about twenty minutes at the beginning are dedicated to the standard introduction of the characters. Everything else is pure combat, confusing, noisy, and full of scenes that will turn the stomach of more sensitive viewers. In fact, it can be said that Scott did so well with a depiction of the cruel reality of the war that his work can be compared with Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. The ultra-realistic depiction of the Battle of Mogadishu owes much to the cinematography by Slawomir Idziak, which adheres to producer Jerry Bruckheimer's guidelines about his films featuring permanent twilight. In this film, there is certain artistic justification for that practice – not only does darkness reflect the mood of the protagonists, but it also depicts a totally confusing situation in which someone’s survival is decided less by skill or training and more by pure chance. Realism is also reflected in the fact that one hundred and thirty and some characters (interpreted by a small army of American, Australian, British, and Danish actors, including stars like Josh Hartnett and character heavyweights like Tom Sizemore or Jason Isaacs) with identical uniforms and hairstyles, covered in blood and dirt, are incredibly similar to each other, so Scott is forced to deviate from historical accuracy and put names on their helmets. The atmosphere of the film, on the other hand, is somewhat hampered by composer Hans Zimmer, who uses a little too much exotic motives in his soundtrack, but whose work is still slightly better than most of his usually monotonous works in the 1990s.

Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer justified large amounts of violence and hyper-realistic bloodshed by trying to bring their depiction of the Battle of Mogadishu as close as possible to historical truth, later explaining that it was the best way to “pay homage to fallen heroes”. MPAA censors, especially in the days of patriotic hysteria following 9/11, had more understanding for it, but the realistic display of carnage doesn’t mean that the film is completely credible. Scriptwriter Nolan was forced to compress a hundred characters into about thirty characters; some for dramatic purposes, some for security reasons, and in some cases the Pentagon (which helped Bruckheimer’s production with authentic footage of the action, helicopters, and manpower) insisted on certain changes for propaganda reasons. One example is John Stebbins, one of the heroes of the battle (played by Ewan McGregor), being renamed Grimes, because in the meantime the real person was sentenced to thirty years in military prison for the rape of his daughter. On the other hand, it could hardly be said Black Hawk Down represents standard Hollywood propaganda. A couple of scenes are inserted solely for the purpose of giving at least a fraction of the Somali perspective, and the final shots even suggest that the American adventure in that African country was a mistake, resulting in meaningless sacrifice of life for something American people had no interest in or understanding. What this film celebrates is primarily the heroism of American soldiers, camaraderie, discipline, and willingness to sacrifice for fellow man – qualities that have attracted people to the military since the dawn of history. In any case, Black Hawk Down had good fortune of being released immediately after 9/11 and at the eve of the Iraq War, in a time when the US public had much more understanding and willingness to support military adventures in Third World countries. But even when seen without its political or propaganda context, Black Hawk Down delivers the goods to the audience seeking a quality war action film.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)