Second Boer War, 1 9 0 1. Three Australian soldiers under the jurisdiction of the British Empire—lieutenants Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, George Witton—are brought in front of a military tribunal under the indictment of killing nine Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers) POWs and one German missionary. The three are defended by lawyer and Major James Thomas. Numerous witnesses show up, recounting that after the Boers killed Captain Hunt, the three went on a rage, discovered a tent with Boers and shot a man wearing Hunt's uniform. They also killed six Boers who surrendered, and also the German missionary who talked to the Boers. The court finds the three guilty and sentences Witton to life in prison, and Morant and Handcock to death.
An unknown classic from "Down Under", one of the best Australian films of the 80s, "Breaker Morant" is a gripping trial drama based on a real historical event during the Second Boer War. A lot of credit goes to the veteran director Bruce Beresford who directs these static trial sequences with a lot of great shot compositions, unusual camera angles and aesthetic images (the "fake split screen" of soldiers building two coffins on the far left side of the frame, while a wall in the middle separates the defendents in the prison back yard on the far right side of the frame; the silhouettes of Morant and Handcock sitting in the foreground while the firing squad is standing over the horizon in the background, while the Sun is above them) that enrich the cinematic experience. Another great component is the brilliant performance of Jack Thompson as the lawyer defending the three Australian lieutenants at the military court. A special charge is achieved by the way the movie plays with the audience: at first, it sets up the whole story from the perspective of the three and their lawyer who passionately defends them, as to make the viewers assume they are innocent and victims of gross injustice of the British martial court. However, as witnesses appear and the movie goes to flashbacks, revealing for what they were indicted for, a dichotomy appears—they are guilty. They are war criminals. One especially dark episode has six Boers waving a white flag, approaching the British military outpost, who are then sent in a prison camp while Morant talks to his colleague that "he doesn't remember any white flag" and then proceeds to order the soldiers to shoot the prisoners. Beresford crafts the film on two levels, humanistic and legal—the viewers understand the three indicted lieutenants, but from the legal standpoint they also understand that they are guilty. While a little bit overstretched in the final act, "Breaker Morant" is a surprisingly intelligent film.
Grade:+++
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