Apocalypse Now: the dehumanization of American soldiers in the VietnamWar
Lance and Willard are the only ones left, allowed to survive because of their acceptance of their dehumanization and inner evil. Kurtz is a man who has descended far further into the depths of madness and evil than any other man, and so possesses the heart of darkness. This is subtly alluded to by the photojournalist’s (played by Denis Hopper) words, ‘ The man is clear in his mind, but his soul is mad. ’ Kurtz’s followers are referred to as his children, which references the lyrics of the song ‘ The End ’ right at the beginning of the film:
Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain And all the children are insane All the children are insane
It is possible to interpret this as meaning that Kurtz’s followers have all been through the descent into madness as well. When Kurtz and Willard first meet, Kurtz is portrayed as a sinister looming figure,
never fully lit and never filmed from the waist down. This apparent stylistic choice seems deliberate and is extremely effective, but in fact Marlon Brando was filmed in this manner as a result of his shame towards his
gigantic weight at that time. 3 Kurtz seems to know what Willard was sent to do, ‘ He knew more about what I was going to do than I did, ’ and yet he makes no effort to stop it. When he is killed by Willard, it is in
an almost sacrificial way, foreshadowed by the sacrificial killing of the cow by his followers. I believe that by killing Kurtz, Willard takes on the heart of darkness, winning the prize of knowing
3 Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse ‧ Documentary ‧ 1991 ‧ Directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper and Eleanor Coppola.
16
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs