I watched the old 1977 classic, " Rolling Thunder " last night. Why can't they make films like this anymore? Raw and more layers than an onion...... no wonder Quentin Tarantino, a notable fan, has cited it as one of his favourite films, highlighting its influence on his work.
Without giving too much away, the story follows Major Charles Rane (William Devane), a Vietnam War veteran who returns home to San Antonio, Texas, after being held captive in a POW camp for seven years. Upon his return, Rane is celebrated as a hero and awarded a silver dollar for each day he was imprisoned. However, he struggles to reconnect with his wife and son, who have moved on in his absence.
Rane's attempts to adjust to civilian life are shattered when a gang of thugs, led by a ruthless criminal named Texan (James Best), invade his home. They brutally attack him and his family, seeking the silver dollars he received. Rane's wife and son are murdered, and Rane is left for dead, with his right hand mangled in a garbage disposal.
Surviving the ordeal, Rane is consumed by a desire for revenge. He teams up with his war buddy, Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), who is also struggling with his own post-war demons. Together, they embark on a relentless and violent quest to track down and eliminate the perpetrators.
Or did they?
Let's be honest, Rane could have simply handed over the money to the bad guys and then gone after them for revenge. Instead, he almost wore his torture at the hands of the home invaders as a hall pass to prove that he could withstand more torture and, after all, he had already lost his wife and son to the local cop who had wooed his wife in his absence. No, he almost welcomed the pain and the violence.
This morning, someone on the blog posted a rather graphic video of a man who had his femoral artery severed by a fighting rooster..... the man bled to death. It struck me that Rane was like the rooster, finally exacting revenge on his so called master and proving that revenge is something that can only be truly understood by the person who has been on the receiving end of ill treatment. The sharpened talon of the rooster brought his tormenter down. Something so many victims would no doubt identify with most passionately.
The chances of your fighting rooster turning on you and opening up your femoral artery then bleeding to death on the spot are very low, like 1 in 8 billion, but never quite zero. pic.twitter.com/SwQw74LG4j
Rolling Thunder goes deep into themes of trauma, vengeance, and the difficulty of reintegration into society after the horrors of war. Rane is like so many people: the silent suffering of many Vietnam veterans, struggling with PTSD and alienation in a society that has moved on without them. His carefully detached approach to vengeance highlights something far bigger.
And Talons.
The film suggests that the trauma of war does not end on the battlefield. But it was more than that. Much more. He was paraded about by happy and gleeful townsfolk, a military that expected him to be grateful for having been returned to his home and was then abandoned, save a token weekly chat with a well meaning counsellor. As long as he, and Vohden wore their military medals and fronted up to scheduled events, they were part of a history in a book where the page had already been turned and their horror was no more than an entry in a book or a tick in a box labelled " no further action. "
How many people around the world today feel this extraordinary betrayal by our military elite? Our governments? By their own families?
Major Charles Rane’s suppressed rage is evident from the moment he returns home. He has been deeply scarred by his experiences as a POW. His trauma from his prolonged captivity leaves him emotionally numb and disconnected from his previous life. Similarly, Johnny Vohden, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is " comfortably numb. " He, too, is a Vietnam veteran struggling to adjust to civilian life. His initial lethargy and disinterest in returning to any semblance of normalcy show that when people are betrayed, tortured, hurt and abandoned, things are not going to end well. When Rane recruits him for the revenge mission, Vohden's transformation from a passive, disconnected bloke to a ruthless avenger highlights the latent fury that have been festering within him.
While suppressed rage is a good kicking off point, the specific catalyst for their violent reaction is the desire for vengeance. The brutal murder of Rane's wife and son, coupled with the physical torture he endures, is just the trigger to a scenario that was going to happen, no matter what.
In fact, the home invasion and the pursuit of the Mexican gang were inevitable. It could have been anyone. Much like Michael Douglas in his film " Falling Down. " When you have been pushed too far, it is not the cashier or the thug that you are fighting, it is the enemy who FIRST hurt you.
Sometimes, we just get pushed too far.
In the case of Rane and Vohden, it was the Vietcong. Make no mistake, it was the Vietcong that they were after, not the silver dollars of the Mexican Gang.
The movie is on Prime and I would be interested to read your thoughts.
But here is my take out on having watched this film.
Everywhere I go these days, I sense anger. Rage. People are itching for a fight. Is it with the person in the supermarket queue or the shopping centre carpark? or is it with the government? Those that let us down and treated us like prisoners?
And no, I hasten to add, we did not endure what our soldiers endured. But we got a small taste of it. Just a nibble. Much like the rooster or the dog or the child who endures abuse.
I wonder if this is why we have so much anger and violence these days? It is not about the poor person who is in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the fact that we harbour such hatred for our captors during covid?
As far as our soldiers are concerned, I would suggest that they have every right to be angry and they deserve to be treated like the heroes that they are, and not the way that our governments are portraying them to be.
No wonder people are angry.
Here is my take out: Vengeance emphasises a broader sense of justice, moral justification, and a symbolic fight against a wider range of wrongs and injustices. Yet revenge focuses on the personal, emotional drive to inflict harm on those who have caused direct suffering. It is rooted in anger, resentment, and the need for personal satisfaction. Vengeance is about Justice.
I think the film was more about vengeance. And this is what we are looking for.
Retribution is impersonal. Vengeance is most definitely personal.
No wonder our governments seek retribution on others behalf. . Hell, it is nothing personal.
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