Black Hawk Down

WAR for a common man is something that he/she gets to read in a newspaper every morning over their cup of tea/coffee.

WAR for a politician is nothing but to formulate a new domestic or foreign policy.

But what is WAR to the actual soldiers who are involved in it ???

Do they fight for a cause or do they die in vain ???

PLOT : " The film depicts the Battle of Mogadishu ,a raid by the United States' effort to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid "



Black Hawk Down is based on the book of the same title by Mark Bowden ,there are some critizations from various quarters that the depiction of the battle was more biased towards only the sufferings & hardships that the US troops faced.

But whatever might be the case the audience will never forget the fact that whatever country the troops represented they had fought not for their country but for the man standing next to him.

Ridley Scott ,the man who gave us the epic "Gladiator (2000)" delivers another masterpiece.His directional skills are evident throughout the film that runs for over 2 hours ,the film never ceases to amaze the audience on the issue at hand.

Screenplay by Ken Nolan is very racy & at the same time provides enough characterizations for the numerous characters in the film ,we could easily relate to the emotional bond that each soldier has for his fellow comrade.

Casting for the film is done really well ,with an ensemble cast of actors the film makers had a huge burden to take care ,the burden is to give the actors enough screen space & i should hand it out to them for executing this work with flair.

Each & every cast had their task cut out for them which they had lapped up superbly ,their acting was seen as a healthy competition that at the end proved to work for the benefit of the film.

Cinematography by Sławomir Idziak was something that greatly helped in the depiction of the battle sequences ,the color tone used ably pointed out the hardships faced by the soldiers.

This film won the oscar for best editing by Pietro Scalia ,why am i not surprised.The editor held the tension level of the film together right from the first shot ,the plot flows well & is never let to loose focus.

If you have a home theatre then this surely is a film to showcase your audio setup ,the oscar winning sound for the film is evident with the various gun shots ,missiles & swirling helicopters.

The background score by Hans Zimmer & Denez Prigent is another feather in the cap for the entire team ,it captures the essence of the backdrop & couples it efficiently with the various emotional moments.

I liked the way the movie was presented ,it never questions the politics behind the battle but focuses sorely on the actual ground realities where every soldier is fighting for himself.

A conversation in the film goes like this "Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that shit just goes right out the window."

These lines hold true to those soldiers who risk their lives for their fellow comrades who stand by their oath to "LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND".

• Director : Ridley Scott

• Writers : Mark Bowden (book), Ken Nolan (screenplay)

• Cast : Josh Hartnett , Ewan McGregor , Tom Sizemore , Eric Bana , William Fichtner , Ewen Bremner , Sam Shepard , Ron Eldard

• Rating : "A" for intense war violence.

P.S : " 18 US soldiers died in the incident depicted in the film. The number of Somalis who died during the battle has been estimated between 500 and 2,000. "