GALLIPOLI
"Wilfred... was last
seen running forward like a schoolboy in a foot-race, with all the speed he
could compass."
Gallipoli is the setting of
Australia’s and New Zealand’s dramatic involvement in the first world war, when
allied forces tried (and failed) to reach Constantinople in order to knock
Turkey out of the war and secure a sea route to Russia. With fierce battle and
heavy losses on both sides, Gallipoli was one of the bloodiest battles of the first
world war.
The film follows the
journey of two friends from rural Australia, Archy Hamilton (played by Mark
lee) and Frank Dunne (played by Mel Gibson), both runners, who cross the desert
to join the 10th Light Horse Regiment in Perth. Archy sees
a purpose in joining. The war appears to him as something meaningful and larger
than life. Frank who is penniless joins with no real purpose in mind. After
successfully enlisting in Perth, they are sent to Egypt to an Australian
training camp before leaving to Gallipoli.
The opening scene of the
film shows us Archy training at dusk in the Australian outback, under the
strong supervision of his uncle. He is one of the fastest runners in Australia
and may very well become a champion, but Archy has other aspirations, that of
joining the great war and doing something meaningful.
The two friends cross the
desert to reach Perth. They get lost and are literally saved by an old man who happened
to cross their path and gives them water and food. The old man has never heard
of the European war and finds it intriguing that these two young lads wish to
participate in such a remote war.
Later on, at the Egypt camp
we see them playing rugby with other troops between the sphinx and the
pyramids. We see them climbing a pyramid and engraving their names on a stone
for posterity.
One of the most memorable
moments I have seen in cinema, is the transition that happens between the
farewell ball where you see them dancing a Strauss Waltz, to the landing at
night on the Turkish peninsula, with Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor in the
background. The moment is shattering and feels like a scene from Dante’s
inferno.
Another majestic use of
music in the film is Jean Michel Jarre’s “Oxygene” juxtaposed to the running
and desert scenes, the “solar” moments of the film. It contrasts sharply with
the classical music and acts swiftly as a lifeline, a pulsating beat, a driving
force.
What is extraordinary about
the story is the way it is told, almost like a tribute to life itself and loss
of innocence. In one of the opening scenes we see uncle Jack reading from the
Jungle book, a scene where Mowgli has reached manhood and must now leave the
family of wolves that raised him. Throughout the film we are subtly reminded of
the frailty of our human condition. The pyramids, the vastness of the desert, and
ultimately the brutal reality of war. The use of George Bizet’s “Pearl fishers” in light of all this is simply magical. You can hear the general listening to this precise passage alone in his tent at night:
In
Gallipoli we have a film of heightened beauty and human values.
One
of Peter Weir’s masterpieces.
If
you should chose only 5 or 10 films to watch in your life, this should be one
of them.
RELEASED: August 1981
Director: Peter Weir
Running Time: 110 mn
Cast: Mel Gibson, Mark
Lee
Rating: 4,5 stars
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