Kokoda
Jack Finisterer, Travis McMahon, Simon Stone, Luke Ford
Volume 11, No. 41, April 20, 2006

IT’S 1942, New Guinea and Australia is at war with Japan.

A patrol from the 39th Battalion has been sent forward outside the perimeter of Isurava, a village on the Kokoda Track.

After sustained bombardment and initial attacks from the Japanese, the patrol is cut off from its supply lines and all communications.

Isolated in the jungle behind enemy lines, to get to safety and the main body, they must make their way back through some of the most unforgiving terrain on Earth.

After three days with no food or sleep, carrying their wounded comrades and suffering the effects of dysentery and malaria, they emerge from the jungle exhausted, but on learning that Isurava is about to fall, they pick themselves up and rejoin the battle.

Based on a true story, this is one of the most confronting films I’ve seen in a long while.

By shooting the whole film on a hand-held camera, director Alister Grierson ensures the audience becomes an unseen member of the patrol, reminiscent in many ways of the opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan.

Grierson has skillfully managed to capture the sense of fear and anxiety of the patrol members as they move along the track – not knowing if an ambush awaits them around the next bend, or if a Japanese soldier lurks in the scrub about to launch a banzai charge, or if a machine-gun nest lies behind a fallen tree?

It’s not a pretty film – very un-Hollywood – but it gives the audience an insight into the horrors the soldiers of the 39th faced along the track, while reinforcing our thoughts and expectations of the Australian Digger – the mateship, leadership and the (very subtle) Aussie sense of humour.

It is very clear that a great deal of research went into the film and the technical (military) advice provided means the characters are very believable.

In parts it’s very violent, but it is what happened on the track – there’s nothing gratuitous, nothing overly embellished.

Don’t expect to see the full story of the Kokoda Track – day one to day last – it’s about a small group of Diggers over a three-day period, and well worth a look.

– Lt-Col Grant King.

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