Born on the Fourth of July Review

           Born on the Fourth of July, is a film that follows the true events of Ron Kovic, an American man ,and his experiences with the Vietnam War. Ron lives his life idolizing the men who fought in previous wars and when the Vietnam War comes along, he enrols immediately leaving behind his old life to serve his country. In Vietnam, Ron is put in a chaotic environment and accidently shoots another American soldier and is then shot in the legs. He is then paralysed from the waist down and must return back to the US, where he discovers the growing anti-war movement that has caused the majority of the nation to reject the Vietnam war and show little respect to its veterans. Adjusting to life becomes very difficult for him as everybody becomes against his efforts to fight for his country and this leads to him to go on a downward spiral in his life. 

            I believe this was an excellent film representing the anti-war movement in the US and the effect it had on the Vietnam veterans. This film really realized the feelings that a person might have after coming from a war, losing the use of their legs and then be treated like a sort of criminal. The fact that this generation of people chose to fight in a war that so many people opposed must have ruined the rest of their lives as everything that they believed in was thought of in disgust by the everyday people. But Ron was able to overcome this great obstacle in his life as he was able to reconnect with the person that he was before the war, by talking to the family of the boy he killed. Ron’s ability to bring his life around and become a very outspoken person in politics is very inspiring and supports the theme of self-actualization.

            The acting in this film was very engrossing as Tom Cruise was able to portray such a vast range of emotions from happiness to utter turmoil and sadness. This allowed for the audience to connect better with the fact that Ron will never be able to walk, reproduce or make love again. Setting was also used very effectively in this film, whereas the scene in the university had such a good contrast of emotions to it as a place of learning and intelligence was being disturbed by such barbaric and unjust rioting. The parade scenes were also very effective as we can see where he begins to idolize war veterens and then when he is in his own parade, he is spit on and yelled at for fighting for his country, showing conflicting values with different time periods. His costume and make up were also very effective in portraying his ability to maintain his composure in society, as when he becomes more disconnected he is dirtier, has a longer beard and seems much more stressed. Dialogue was also very well done as all the characters were very unique and had interesting dialogue, such as Ron’s veteran friend who had a lot of controversial ideas about the war and life and this made the dialogue very spontaneous and exciting.

            Overall, I think this is a good movie in general and a great Vietnam film as it really doesn’t glorify war in any way and tries to make the point that the war was wrong. This strong stand on the war is very refreshing compared to other films that try to appeal to both sides. The fact that this is actually based on a true story also adds validity to the things happening in the film that seem like acts of fiction. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who has seen any other Vietnam film and others who want to learn more about the effect of the peace movement on the veterans. Therefore, I am giving this film an 8 out of 10.