Review of Breaker Morant (1980) by Erik K — 18 Sep 2005

It?s not too often that a film encompasses more than one main point, but [i]Breaker Morant[/i] not only encompasses many points, it does so very competently.

The story is about three Australian soldiers during the Boer War who are being court-martialed for their supposed involvement in the murder of several Boer prisoners as well as a German missionary. Because the British want to wrap up the time-consuming war and keep the Germans out of it, they set up a mock jury which they hope will rapidly punish the soldiers. To ensure this result, the prosecution attorney is given five weeks to research and form his case while the defending attorney is given three days and is actually a land assessor back in Australia. From the onset the men seem doomed, but their amateur attorney quickly learns the trade and puts forth a compelling argument for the soldiers? innocence.

As I said earlier, this film tackles many issues. It brutally critiques British imperialism, and it addresses how foolish it is to hold soldiers accountable to civilized laws of conduct when the very nature of their craft is uncivilized. The film also convinces the audience of the importance of an impartial justice system by showing how the three soldiers? rights were abused at the whim of others. It also shows just how easily the soldiers can be used and discarded by their superiors. To them it seems as if they are not men but beasts of burden who have become an embarrassment to their masters and are then put down.

It?s a slow-moving drama, but it?s also very rewarding.