Kokoda

One of the most evocative images of Australians at war derives from the WWII campaign in Papua New Guinea. Shot by famed cinematographer Damien Parer, the image is of a wounded serviceman, heavily bandaged about the head, being helped up the Kokoda Track. That he follows and is followed by numerous other weary and wounded points to the enormous toll this battle took on those who were engaged in it.

Alister Grierson’s tribute to the men of Kokoda recaptures Parer’s famous footage and provides a point of recognition for his audience. What follows may not be as familiar.

The film traces a few days in the lives of a group of Australian soldiers. They were not “real soldiers”; not the AIF. They were part of a militia, only able to serve in defence of Australian soil – PNG was at that time an Australian protectorate. The army called them “Chocolate Soldiers” as they would surely melt in the heat of battle.

Kokoda begins prior to the battle of Isurava and focuses on a small patrol of “Chockos”. During what was meant to be a short reconnaissance mission they become leaderless and cut off from their supply line. With minimal ammunition and virtually no food or water, this group men need to make it back to Isurava to help fight off the attacking Japanese troops.

Beset by malaria and dysentery, the men are exhausted, bewildered and terrified.

Shot with a tiny budget, Kokoda looks and sounds remarkably good. The cinematography gives a sense of the confusing and perilous terrain in which the Japanese and Australian forces were engaged.

The team of actors who comprise the untested patrol are uniformly good. For most Kokoda marks their feature film debut. Many of them have backgrounds in comedy yet manage to bring sustained intensity to their performances.

Violent, gross and peppered with coarse language, Kokoda is not a film that glories in war but depicts it as a bleak and shocking experience.

Yet the film is not without its flaws. In an age where films are often overly long it seems churlish to complain of a movie’s brevity. Yet Kokoda feels too short or perhaps it is the lack of context and historical framework that is missing. Making a film about the whole campaign would be an enormous task however Grierson’s movie does suffer from an absence of explanation.

The second issue is one that must tempt most first-time directors – the tendency to over-emphasise a message. Indeed many accomplished filmmakers sometimes let their zeal or earnestness get the better of them. While his movie clearly depicts the courage, sacrifice and mateship of the Australian soldiers, Kokoda ends with a speech delivered by (William McInnes) explaining just that. Ironically the speech offered to the weary troops by General Thomas Blamey denigrated the men for their efforts, referring to them as “rabbits who run”.

But despite these quibbles Alister Grierson has made a tense and moving film that pays homage to the valour and bravery of the Australian soldiers – chocolate or otherwise.

It’s hard for most of us to imagine the experience of war. We cannot comprehend the fear or the boredom, the anxiety and the suffering. The man who fights in war must surely be forever altered. What frequently astonishes me is the capacity for conflict to bring out the best in people. That it often brings out the worst seems more explicable. Yet there are some who, even in the horror and deprivation of war, are capable of immense generosity, courage and sacrifice.

It echoes the miraculous work of God in bringing good out of bad. Humanity sows violence and destruction yet God yields a harvest of salvation. Even in the awfulness of war the fingerprints of God can be seen.

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