Breaker Morant

6/7/2023

Told by way of a court retrospective, this film depicts the brutalities of the Boer War between the British Colonial authorities and the immigrant Dutch farmers who just wanted to be left to govern themselves. Though largely suppressed by the overwhelming military force, the Boers did have success with guerrilla tactics that resulted in the pretty brutal skirmishes described here. A court martial has been constituted to investigate the activities of three Australian solders and to basically scapegoat them. Only the legal skills of the inexperienced lawyer "Maj. Thomas" (Jack Thompson) can hope to prevent the three from going to the gallows. What soon becomes clear is that the soldiers lead by "Morant" (Edward Woodward) were certainly no saints, and that the ghastliness of this war is writ

3/31/2025

An all time great war movie/court room drama "Breaker Morant" is one of those movies I had placed on a "Really should see this movie one of these days" list. Well, in some ways I'm sorry I waited so long to see this masterpiece and in other ways, the current world situation with "The war on terror" has made this movie even more relevant and topical. The plot of this movie is based on real events that occurred during the Boer War, in South Africa. Three Australian soldiers (well, during the course of this war, Australia had become a nation) are courts martial for the killing of some South African fighters and a South African priest. The colonials are fighting for Britain against the Boers, and concerned that Germany (or what would later become Germany) would enter the war on the side