After last night's run (further than I've ever run along that path, btw), my brother fed me dinner and we watched, with his flatmate, Crimson Tide. If you recognise the origin of my sub-heading, you might have worked out that I'm a big fan of NCIS. You can imagine my delight, then, when Leon and SECNAV show up (in different roles, obviously), and not as the top dogs. Gene, Viggo, and especially Denzel, are another 3 favourite actors I can always watch.
This was yet another movie that foreshadows world events. So much so that I was wondering to myself today if maybe certain world leaders (or their speech writers, I guess), had this movie in mind... Set in 1995, its events are similar to those of 2001 onwards. Admittedly, there is a different enemy (Russia instead of a Middle Eastern country). And I associate the Middle East and its US wars with desert, not submarines and water. But we had the 'launch capability in an hour' threat, as well as the 'we need to make a preemptive strike' speech. Ring any bells?
I found it an interesting snapshot into military reality. There were things I hadn't considered, like how to exercise on a sub, and how to have a party (or, perhaps, that there still is that need to party). More importantly, the significance of every job, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. It looks like one of the characters (whose name I can't even remember) is rather low in the pecking order, has a mundane task regarding electricity. But when the sub loses contact with command, they really need that radio working again, and the whole outcome of the mission (and the movie) relies on that one lowly sailor doing his job.
More than that, though, was the importance of following orders, the chain of command, and protocol. There are reasons for everything and even though you might not like something, orders are orders. But occasionally morals don't sit with what those orders are, and whether or not to obey something that goes against your moral compass is a dilemma I'm glad I don't have to face. If you disobey, you can be court-martialled, and chaos is a potential threat. Obey, though, and you have to live with your conscience and the repercussions of your actions.
One of the great lines of the movie, spoken by Gene to Denzel fairly early on, is "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it". Which is essentially the crux of the movie. These very didactic power pyramids, where there is no room for discussion or debate, are sent out to bring (or force) democracy to other nations, so that these other nations can have the freedom to discuss and debate, to choose and choose again, and behave the way we see best. Like fighting for peace.
With 3 musicians watching, there was bound to be some discussion about the soundtrack. "Hans Zimmer soundtrack, anyone?" was followed by "... Ooh, that's embarrassing. John Williams". "Are we sure...?" A quick check on IMDb proved the first instinct to be correct, but there was a lot of Williams in this. In my teenage years I loved Georgian music (especially that really deep bass sound), so the Russian Orthodox vibe to a lot of this was both fitting and nostalgic. It really fit the scene so well, all that rich, deep sound to match the diving submarine off the Russian coast. In the mutinous scenes, though, was something akin to a Mozart Requiem mash-up. The same pitch order as the Lachrymosa, but with the attack and strength of the Dies Irae. Very cool.
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