COURAGE UNDER FIRE

 

FOUR STARS - Powerful

 

 

       The character of a person is revealed by those spontaneous decisions we make in difficult times.    Sadly, for many of us, this testing by fire reveals deeply regretted flaws for which we suffer in the days to follow.  But thankfully, for others, those moments reveal courage and strength we only imagined we could possess.

       Though this is the theme explored in almost all war and disaster films, “Courage Under Fire” is a remarkable film in its ability to weave both the inward journey and the outward consequences of those decisions together.

       Using the Gulf War as the context in which to examine the human character, the depth of the inquiry comes through the unrelenting investigation of Col. Nat Sterling (Denzel Washington).

       His journey is intensely personal and spiritual.   As a tank commander, he leads his men into battle with both a prayer and a charge to “kill them all.”  This incongruous approach is further complicated when Col. Sterling himself gives the order which kills one of his own men by mistake.  When this mistake is followed by the official army deception to the parents of the dead soldier by telling them he died from enemy fire, the stage is set for the exploration of character.

       Character is what exposes itself during and after such times of crisis.  Though religious practices imply a depth of moral character, this often reveals itself in the internal struggle of the person following moral failure.   When mistakes are covered over, every person participating in the cover-up begins a struggle of the soul.  Guilt, shame, embarrassment and fear take hold and increasingly isolate and eventually destroy the soul of the person.

       The way to salvation is through confession.  Confessing the truth, admitting the failure or sin, and taking whatever consequences occur is the first step to healing and spiritual growth.

       In a wonderful weave of inward and outward struggle, Col. Sterling is given the responsibility of investigating the actions of a woman helicopter pilot, Capt. Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) who is being considered for the Congressional Medal of Honor.  In his investigation, Col. Sterling is systematically forced to face his own guilt as he uncovers the sins of others.

       Capt. Walden had died in a heroic attempt by her Medevac crew to rescue some wounded soldiers.  With our soldiers under attack, Capt. Walden had piloted her helicopter in an ingenious way which saved the soldier’s lives.  But during the rescue attempt, her huey crashed in the midst of Iraqi soldiers.  What happened then is the investigation upon which the moral struggle resides.

       Though we won’t divulge the intricacies of the events, the truth is clearly demonstrated that sin has consequences which cannot be hidden or dismissed.  As we uncover the actions of various members of Capt. Walden’s crew, we also see the decimated souls of the people who perform such acts.  The pain is medicated by drugs, mental distress and gambling addictions, but nothing works.

       This is the result of moral failure.  Though a person may try to avoid thinking about it, the soul cannot live with the denial or the consequences.

       Col. Sterling, as he attempts to avoid his own internal battle, becomes obsessed in his investigation with the sins of others.   He withdraws from his wife and family, from his friends and commanders,  drowns his thoughts in alcohol and eventually risks everything in his drive to find peace through the truth.

       Though it is revealed in the beginning of the film that Col. Sterling believes in prayer, he apparently even isolates himself from his church and God as well.

       But, his soul will not live with his continuing participation in lies and deception.  Until he confesses his lies to the parents of the soldier he accidentally killed, he is a man obsessed.  It is only through breaking the denial and confessing the truth of his sin that his soul finds rest.

       In a wonderful scene of homecoming, we are given a dream image of his internal peace when we observe Capt. Walden smiling her thanks as she flies her huey which is taking the dead soldier killed by Col. Sterling away.  Both are now at peace as the truth has been told about their “courage under fire.”

 

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