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Gone with the wind
FUTILE EXERCISE: Joe Enders (Nicholas Cage) with his charge Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach).
Windtalkers (ENGLISH)
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Adam Beach
Dir: John Woo
THERE HAS been a sudden interest in World War II codes in the movies -- wonder if it was sparked off by that educative and exciting (it is possible, you know) book by mathematician Simon Singh's history of codes, The Code Book.
Singh's book talks of the use of Navaho (a native American tribe) code talkers by the Americans. The Japanese never broke the code and it became an indispensable tool of communication. The code talkers were sworn to secrecy and though the Navahos were responsible for a lot of America's success in the Pacific battle arena, their deeds were largely unheralded. You would not be wrong in thinking the Navaho's story would make for fantastic cinema. Unfortunately, in John Woo's hands, the film plays out like a series of video-game style battles with sundry references to the Navahos slapped on anyhow.
Uninspiring and unimaginative from the first frame, the film looks like one of those autopilot jobs without even Woo trademarks like flying cloaks and scarves (agreed it would be difficult with battle fatigues), pigeons and fights choreographed in slo mo.
The story, oh the story - there is Sergeant Joe Enders who is so gung ho about "killing the Japs," that he drags himself from sick bay impaired hearing and all to the front. He has a new assignment to protect Ben Yahzee, a Navaho code talker, a "windtalker."
His orders are to protect the code at all costs that translates to killing the code talker if he falls into enemy hands.
The clichés include a racist, an angst-ridden soldier, the good woman and child waiting at home and dreams of what to do in peacetime.
The battle sequences try to follow the Saving Pvt Ryan, Black Hawk Down tradition of realistic and gritty and gory but fall into video game category.
Windtalkers proves John Woo should stick to urban fantasy with pigeons and flying scarves and leave the realistic stuff to others.
MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER
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