Review of Breaker Morant (1980) by Michael T — 13 Sep 2014
Breaker Morant was based on a two act play by Kenneth Ross that was adapted by Aussie director Bruce Berserford and became a classic of the Australian "New Wave" of cinema. The film is based on a real court martial of three Australian officers serving in a special British unit fighting the Boer guerrillas during the Boer War.
When this film was made, Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War was still a very recent memory (as was the United States) but the film is still apt in the post-911 world. Harry "Breaker" Morant was a poet and the best horse breaker in Australia.
An Englishman with aristocratic blood living in exile in Australia, he joined the Australian military, earned a commission, and had an exemplary military record but was put on trial for the murder of Boer prisoners and of a German missionary who may have been a German spy.
Britain wants to end the war and negotiate the surrender of the remaining Boer guerillas and wants to keep Germany from entering the war on the Boer side. The successful prosecution of Morant and his fellow "rough and tumble" Australian officers is deemed a political necessity by high-ranking British officers.
The question of the court martial comes down to verbal orders that were given to shoot Boer prisoners by Morant's British superiors. Edward Woodward, Bryan Brown, and Jack Thompson are standouts in a superb cast.
Like Gallipoli, this film is very bitter about Australia's participation in British-led military adventures.
This review of Breaker Morant (1980) was written by Michael T on 13 Sep 2014.
Breaker Morant has generally received very positive reviews.
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