The pilot of a rescue copter, Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), died shortly before her helicopter crew was rescued after it crashed in Desert Storm. It first appears that she made a spectacular rescue of a downed helicopter crew, then held her own crew together to fight off the Iraqis after her copter crashed. Lt. Colonel Serling (Denzel Washington), who is struggling with his own demons from Desert Storm is assigned to investigate and award her the Medal of Honor.
But some conflicting accounts, from her crew and soldiers in the area, cause him to question whether she deserves it.Courage Under Fire makes excellent use of the Rashomon technique, wherein we get to see each person’s version of what really happened in Iraq. Sterlings own feelings of guilt and responsibility for what happened in Iraq provide an additional level of depth to the narrative (more so than in Kurosawa’s original classic film in fact). Some may find the parallel attempts to find redemption to be somewhat heavy handed, but ultimately the film succeeds because of the solid acting performances.
In addition to Washington and Ryan, there are also great performances from Lou Diamond Phillips and a very underweight Matt Damon as surviving members of Walden’s crew, Michael Moriarity as the General, Scott Glenn as the reporter, and Regina Taylor as Sterling’s wife. The main enjoyment here is watching Ryan and her crew do the same lines with totally different meanings because of radical changes in context while Washington tries to find meaning in his own life.
Courage Under Fire makes excellent use of the “Rashomon” technique, wherein we get to see each person’s version of what really happened in Iraq. Sterlings own feelings of guilt and responsibility for what happened in Iraq provide an additional level of depth to the narrative (more so than in Kurosawa’s original classic film in fact). Some may find the parallel attempts to find redemption to be somewhat heavy handed, but ultimately the film succeeds because of the solid acting performances.
Character to watch: Denzel Washington as Nat Serling.
Journal your answers to the following questions after you watch the movie.
- How does this particular character’s journey compare with yours?
- Did the character develop certain characteristics during the movie that you have or that you would like to have? If so, what are those characteristics?
- What obstacles did this character face? What was his or her biggest challenge?
- What would you have done differently if you had been in the same position as the character?
- Is this character the type of person you would be friends with? Why or why not?