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Two farmboys from Tennessee, best friends, Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh
Harnett) who have a fascination for airplanes, become pilots of the US Army Air Corps. They meet attractive army nurse Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale). Rafe and she fall in
love. He is recommended for and joins the US Eagle Squadron which forms part of the RAF (British Royal Air Force) When the war in Europe breaks out, in an encounter with the
enemy, Rafe's plane is struck and he goes down with it into the sea. Evelyn and Danny receive the news of his death. In their love and mourning for him they turn to each other
and fall in love. Some months later, they are surprised by Rafe turning up in Hawaii, where they are stationed. He had been wounded and saved. How this love triangle will be
resolved is enmeshed in the on-going war story in Hawaii, centered on the attack of Pearl Harbor.Some countries are now asking why the US is still not involved. The Americans,
however, are keeping an eye on their Pacific eastern front, worried about the too-quiet Japanese. Japan, in secret, has been preparing to attack the Americans for having cut
off their oil supply. Their preparations are meticulous and well planned. The surprise attack comes on a December morning. America's naval base in Hawaii is completely
devastated. More than 3,000 men, all the ships, including the USS Arizona and all the fighter planes are lost.
As a story Pearl Harbor,
focuses on the romance of Rafe, Evelyn and Danny. More than half of the screen time is centered on them. As a spectacle, however, much expense and details are given to the Japanese attack on the American naval base and environs. Almost an hour of visuals show what happens in the devastation wreaked by the bombs and rapid machine-gun fire from the air. The whole Hawaiian episode in an awesome sight, including the sinking of the USS Arizona, with the sailors and men bobbing in the turbulent water. The scene reminds one of those seen in "
Titanic". Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding, Jr. Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin and John Voight should be cited for believable acting.
The cinematic presentation of the attack and its aftermath show how terrible war is. Although
there are some close-up shots of the war wounded, blood and gore, the camera does not directly or clearly focus on these too long. However, the director successfully portrays
its horrible consequences: the terrible damage to people, physical and psychological- lives lost and disintegration of relationships; including property and environmental
destruction. Though the story of the attack on Pearl Harboris not complete or historically accurate, it visually captivates the horror of the attack of the naval base
in Hawaii. For the real story of Pearl Harbor, it is necessary to read history books.
Nobody wins in a war; everyone becomes a loser. Dialogue is still a better way, no matter
how long it takes.
(Date reviewed: June 8, 2001)
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