War Movie Month: Breaker Morant (1980)

"Shoot straight you bastards. Don't make a mess of it."

So many war films show us the horrific violence of conflict, but few deal with the hypocrisy that exists within the military, particularly their systems of law. One such feature is the Australian new wave film, Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford.

One of the few films set during the Boer War (The Second Boer War for you history hipsters), Breaker Morant is the true story of the court-martial of Harry "The Breaker" Morant (Edward Woodward), Peter Hancock (Bryan Brown), and George Witton (Lewis Fitz-Gerald). Charged with murdering Boer prisoners, as well as a German missionary, their defence (Jack Thompson) is given just one day to prepare before the trial commences.

The film centres around the trial, with flashbacks to the war, and scenes within the prison inter-cut throughout. Given the low-budget of Breaker Morant, it manages to cover a surprising amount of detail, with the battle scenes being particularly impressive, thanks to some creative cinematography from prolific Australian DP Donald McAlpine (Predator, Romeo + Juliet). Though it cannot be denied that this is a dialogue-driven film, and as such, is probably not the sort of feature that viewers looking for action war movies would want to see. The story of the trial is certainly interesting and the intercutting prevents it from becoming too stagnant, but the fact is that some of the film is a little bit dry.

However, it cannot be said that the performances are in any way humdrum, with Edward Woodward leading the charge with a memorable depiction of a respected and complex man, who has come to be considered a hero in Australian society. Woodward is powerful in his attempts to defend himself and his men, and emotional when confronting the inevitable. Jack Thompson has a similar presence as their defence council, and Brown & Fitz-Gerald are able to perfectly convey the naivety of the younger two accused. Another standout is revered Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, who plays Lt. Col. Denny, presiding over the trial with a stern presence.

The key to Breaker Morant is the details. The dialogue of the trial and the alternating scenes form an impressive and intriguing depiction of these real-life events, which has seen the film go down in the history books as one of Beresford's best, and by far, one of the most memorable Australian war films. Just don't go into it expecting an action packed explosion-fest.