DIRECTOR:
Mario Van Peebles LEAD CAST: Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, Matt
Lanter,Brian Presley, Cody Walker SCREENWRITER:
Cam Cannon, Richard Rionda Del Castro PRODUCER:
Michael Mendelsohn, Richard Rionda Del Castro EDITOR:
Robert A. Ferretti MUSICAL
DIRECTOR: Laurent Eyquem GENRE: Drama,
Action,History CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrzej
SekuĊa DISTRIBUTOR: Saban Films
LOCATION: United States
Technical assessment: 3
Moral assessment: 2
Cinema rating: V14
MTRCB rating: PG
The
film depicts the historical fate of USS Indianapolis ship—in 1945, the Portland
class cruiser led by Captain Charles McVay (Nicolas Cage) sailed to deliver parts
of the atomic to be dropped on Hiroshima towards the end of World War II. While
cruising the Philippine Sea, on July 30th, 1945, the ship is torpedoed and sunk
by a Japanese submarine that detects them, taking 300 crewmen with it to the
bottom of the Philippine Sea, while the rest climb out of the ship and are left
stranded in shark-infested waters for five days without food and water. How will they survive? Who is really
responsible for the disaster?
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Philippine
Sea could
have been a gripping survival tale on the fate of the soldiers on board the
titular ship. However, the film suffers
from obligatory Hollywood stereotyping of telling or re-telling historical
disaster stories such as this—like a love triangle that does not really add
tension to the story. The film lacks clarity as to who the protagonist really
is or as to whose point-of-view the story is being told. In historical films
such as this, it is imperative that the point-of-view be clear so there would
be a central narrative arc to be followed. Too many subplots also tend to bore
the audience as it veer awaymerely serve to distract from the main focus of the
film which is the disaster. But then, the film is successful is visually
depicting the disaster at sea. Audiences are really taken to the actual event
with all its magnitude and danger. Cage is a strong lead and is able to deliver
the depth of emotion required for the role of the disturbed ship captain.
It is
always interesting to retell stories of war for they bring to the forefront
moral questions—whether or not moral choices are still present in time of war.
Nevertheless, most war stories really tell that love is present even in time of
war so that it might answer some of the most important moral questions. USS
Indianapolis: Disaster at Philippine Sea is no exception. It disturbs moral
judgment from the very beginning as the Captain and the rest of the crew are in
for a mission they are not exactly aware of. The Captain taking his entire crew
on suicidal mission is such a morally disturbing choice. Taking the disaster
upon himself in the process perhaps could be a depiction of the consequence of
one lapse in judgment. In war, obedience may be the only choice one will have—choosing
allegiance may be of no question to most, so one chooses to obey orders no
matter how obscure or vague the orders may be. In the end, history will be the
ultimate judge, they say, but God is the real ultimate judge. More than survival, honor coupled with faith
and love should be the goal of every human being even in time of war.
