Kokoda Film Techniques

The film, Kokoda, is viewed as a useful historical source in its portrayal of Australia’s fight for its nation, during World War II. Although the truth was bended slightly for a more entertainment value due to Hollywood’s style, it was considerably successful in its aims to clearly represents the honesty of the nature of the Kokoda Trail. The motion picture truthfully depicts the inexperienced militia group and their remarkable bravery and and mateship to the end. Next, it accurately features the rough conditions of their surroundings in the ordeal and the dark effects of the undergrowth on the battle. Finally, even though the story is of limited material in its account of the an australian experience, not the overall war, it’s still a faithful

Literally, in the glorifying opening shot in the mesmerizing Kokoda, there’s a re-enactment of the footage made by the famous photographer, Damien Parer. It consisted of armed australian soldiers ‘...plodding up a steep incline as their feet sank into mud...’ (Kokoda- Film Reviews), signalling from the get go that the film payed much attribute to the experience. Throughout the experience, the rugged terrain and rough climate were shown to be unforgiving and quite treacherous at times, making movement sluggish and definitely exhausting. On top of that, soldiers had to battle the stealth of the Japanese invaders in the jungle and their notorious combat skills. They were accurately displayed to be better trained to some extent than the militiamen, though, the enemy never really was shown to the audience. Nonetheless, this was acceptable as it highlighted the fact that fighting in those circumstances was like playing hide-and-seek. The Japanese soldiers were very well camouflaged with the help of the dank undergrowth, emerging from the shadows. They were ‘...everywhere but hard to spot, appearing like ghosts of light...’ (Kokoda- Film Reviews) reigning down terror on the enemy front. Above all, this evidently illustrates the extremities that the war volunteers encountering in

In the first place, It’s true that it’s ‘experience-based film’ on the Australian front and because of this, has a restraint on its comprehensive accuracy of the war. It’s wise to remember though that this is simply a true account regarding a young group of ‘chocos’, initially, sent to Papua New Guinea as maintenance personnel and was intentionally not a full account of the overall war. Also, this film was made on a low budget, which made even higher physical demand of the cast and smaller depth of the conflict. As a result, the film is seen as a fine example of a successful history piece, of which low budget filmmaking is at its best, being represented in the film industry. In addition to this, some may say that the level of destruction and subsequent casualties on both fronts experienced in the film didn’t seem realistic enough. Whilst the casualties didn’t seem to be that awfully on both sides of the war, the intensity of it and brutally honest impact was implied and was clearly exceptional in its depiction. It was quite genuine its portrayal of the frightening yet very crucial war for Australia, shown through the impossible task that the young men were faced with. According to the journalist, Sandy George, ‘Kokoda is a testament to the absolute madness and absurdity of the concept of war, and to the horror and nightmarish