It's 2.30am and I've just finished watching this again. I was an Australian "grunt" with the 3rd Battalion in Vietnam 1971 and although most of the war was boredom, this is without doubt the most realistic portrayal of the Australian side of the war that you will see. Admittedly, it's the entire 10 year war condensed into one persons life, but if you try to imagine yourself in the shoes of a young 20 year old, you may get a glimpse of what it was like. The politics, clothes, civvy life, emotions, conscription, protests and the war were very accurate. This isn't your usual gung-ho macho shoot'em up Hollywood Rambo movie. It's about as close as you'll get to what it was like during the war. The most amusing part is the fact that Nicole Kidman wasn't even born when we were fighting the war! Yes - it is slow in parts, but this movie isn't about macho heroes. It's about simple 20 year olds like me who never wanted to hurt anyone, but were sent to a place where there were virtually no rules. We were dropped by chopper into a jungle and we could kill anyone who wasn't one of us - no questions asked. If you want to see the real thing, then this is the one to watch - NOT Rambo!!
