MOVIE REVIEW : ‘HAMBURGER HILL’: ON THE LEAN SIDE

When troops of the 101st Airborne Division encountered the enemy at the base of Dong Ap Bia, designated Hill 937, in May, 1969, they began one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, consisting of 11 assaults in 10 days. “Hamburger Hill” (citywide) pays heartfelt, richly deserved tribute to the young American soldiers who fought so valiantly there.

If only director John Irvin, who was in Vietnam in 1969 making a BBC documentary, and writer Jim Carabatsos, a Vietnam veteran, had been content to honor these men who were prepared to risk their lives in what had become a singularly unpopular war. But they don’t trust the soldiers’ brave actions to speak for themselves and instead give them a series of preachy, rabble-rousing speeches that add up to a diatribe against the anti-war movement at home rather than an attack on U.S. involvement in the war in the first place.

The film makers seem to be as unwilling to distinguish between cause and effect as those Americans who have simple-mindedly blamed Vietnam on our veterans. A little subtlety would have greatly enhanced “Hamburger Hill’s” potential for tragic irony, but the film makers are rigorously dedicated to the proposition that it’s impossible to underestimate the intelligence of moviegoers.

Apart from its message-making, “Hamburger Hill,” which typically was filmed in the Philippines, is a grueling, ultra-bloody, technically adroit, standard-issue war movie. It’s distinguished primarily from its World War II counterparts in that these soldiers have to battle understandably low morale as well as the enemy, and by a stirring, insistent Philip Glass score. It hasn’t “Platoon’s” overriding struggle between good and evil or “Full Metal Jacket’s” protest against the dehumanizing effects of war to give it dimension.

It does have, however, a greater awareness of the presence and plight of blacks in Vietnam. Of the 14 young and capable unknown actors who make up “Hamburger Hill’s” squad, the most fiery is Courtney Vance as a black medic torn between his compassion for young recruits regardless of color and his resentment that blacks have had so far fewer alternatives to serving in Vietnam than whites. But just as Vance’s Doc is becoming his angriest, he capitulates with breathtaking swiftness when a youth quietly points out that not all whites are born with silver spoons in their mouths. In a burst of sentimental front-line camaraderie Doc shouts that “on this hill we’re all dumb niggers!”

Had “Hamburger Hill” unfolded--in a more understated fashion--from Doc’s point of view, it might have been something special. Along with Vance, the other most prominent actor is Dylan McDermott as a sergeant mature beyound his years.

As it is, the film follows the usual pattern of introducing us to a group of clean-cut, largely likable, mainly blue-collar young American men, than getting us to care about them so as to develop suspense and anguish as to their eventual fates in battle. The most urgent and revealing question, however, is whether there’s going to be an audience for “Hamburger Hill” (rated R for strong language and standard warfare bloodshed).

‘HAMBURGER HILL’ A Paramount presentation. Executive producers David Korda, Jerry Offsay. Producers Marcia Nasatir, Jim Carabatsos. Co-producer Larry De Waay. Director John Irvin. Screenplay Jim Carabatsos. Camera Peter MacDonald. Music Philip Glass. Special effects coordinator Joe Lombardi. Production designer Austen Spriggs. Military adviser Command Sgt. Maj. Al Neal. Military liaison Col. Joseph B. Conmy Jr., U.S. Army. Film editor Peter Tanner. With Anthony Barrile, Michael Patrick Boatman, Don Cheadle, Michael Dolan, Don James, Dylan McDermott, M.A. Nickles, Harry O’Reilly, Daniel O’Shea, Tim Quill, Tommy Swerdlow, Courtney Vance, Steven Weber, Tegan West, Kieu Chinh, Doug Goodman, J.C. Palmore, J.D. Van Sickle.

Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

MPAA rating: R (Younger than 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian.)