If you walked into a room halfway through Salvador there would certainly be no prizes for guessing that it is an Oliver Stone movie. Even though I'm a big fan of his, this film has the look and feel of many of the films that he made throughout the eighties and nineties.
I do totally agree with those people who've criticised Salvador for trying to be both a movie about hedonistic debauchery (a la Fear and Lathing in Las Vegas) and a serious exposition of an actual series of (very serious) events. Jim Belushi's character never really looks at home in the movie (and, of course, that's one of the main jokes - Richard Boyle's selfishness more or less ruins Dr. Rock's life and turns him into a deranged 'tic tac' drinking wino) and the comic elements don't really work. This is possibly due to the fact that Belushi wasn't happy with the film or with his co-star (an admission he makes on the recently released DVD version), but it might also be the fact that he (and his brother) are/were extremely limited actors.
However James Woods suits the role of the Richard Boyle, an intensely conceited asshole if ever there was one, absolutely perfectly, and he is equally convincing when bull****ing local officials in pigeon Spanish and when breaking down in frustration due to American inaction over the worsening political situation in El Salvador.
I don't want to get into a debate about the truthfulness of the movie to the events it depicts, but the character of Major Max should definitely be addressed. As another person has already commented on this board - Major Max is little more than a caricature. This much is certainly true. But the guy he was based on, Jose Napoleon Duarte, WAS a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Yes, he may have been the first 'civilian' to be elected to the junta government, but to say that he was 'democratically elected' is being rather economical with the truth. The film does tend to lump the government in with the army and the death squads all too often, but this is not a complete fabrication by any means, considering the grip that the army had on government even after Duarte's subsequent re-election in 1984. Bear in mind that this film was also being shot while a number of those who masterminded the death squads were still in power. The DVD version contains the hilarious revelation that Stone and Boyle tricked the Salvadorian government into lending them their army and resources by making them think they were making a pro-junta propaganda piece.
The best point I think Oliver Stone makes with Salvador is that it is dangerous and unfair to denounce anyone who takes up arms against their government with a legitimate grievance as a godless communist. The FMLN guerillas were not sponsored by the Russians and they got little assistance from Cuba. Besides, if they were intent on destroying the Salvadorian state then why have they taken an active part in the democratic process since the fall of the junta? The lazy and ugly paranoia of the Reagan administration was perfectly illustrated by Stone's inclusion of a rambling speech by ol' Ronnie where he lists a number of continents (continents, not countries!) that he saw as possibly conspiring to attack America.
My only beef with the movie is Woods' ludricrously idealistic speech right at the end about what it means to be an American. The speech is proceeded by one of the most incisive criticisms of American foreign policy ever in a Hollywood movie, so to first say that America has opposed free speech across the world and then to sing the virtues of the 'land of the brave' just doesn't make sense.
Anyone in possession of a conscience who would like to know more about the oppresiveness of the outside world but who doesn't know where to start, should definitely watch Salvador.
I do totally agree with those people who've criticised Salvador for trying to be both a movie about hedonistic debauchery (a la Fear and Lathing in Las Vegas) and a serious exposition of an actual series of (very serious) events. Jim Belushi's character never really looks at home in the movie (and, of course, that's one of the main jokes - Richard Boyle's selfishness more or less ruins Dr. Rock's life and turns him into a deranged 'tic tac' drinking wino) and the comic elements don't really work. This is possibly due to the fact that Belushi wasn't happy with the film or with his co-star (an admission he makes on the recently released DVD version), but it might also be the fact that he (and his brother) are/were extremely limited actors.
However James Woods suits the role of the Richard Boyle, an intensely conceited asshole if ever there was one, absolutely perfectly, and he is equally convincing when bull****ing local officials in pigeon Spanish and when breaking down in frustration due to American inaction over the worsening political situation in El Salvador.
I don't want to get into a debate about the truthfulness of the movie to the events it depicts, but the character of Major Max should definitely be addressed. As another person has already commented on this board - Major Max is little more than a caricature. This much is certainly true. But the guy he was based on, Jose Napoleon Duarte, WAS a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Yes, he may have been the first 'civilian' to be elected to the junta government, but to say that he was 'democratically elected' is being rather economical with the truth. The film does tend to lump the government in with the army and the death squads all too often, but this is not a complete fabrication by any means, considering the grip that the army had on government even after Duarte's subsequent re-election in 1984. Bear in mind that this film was also being shot while a number of those who masterminded the death squads were still in power. The DVD version contains the hilarious revelation that Stone and Boyle tricked the Salvadorian government into lending them their army and resources by making them think they were making a pro-junta propaganda piece.
The best point I think Oliver Stone makes with Salvador is that it is dangerous and unfair to denounce anyone who takes up arms against their government with a legitimate grievance as a godless communist. The FMLN guerillas were not sponsored by the Russians and they got little assistance from Cuba. Besides, if they were intent on destroying the Salvadorian state then why have they taken an active part in the democratic process since the fall of the junta? The lazy and ugly paranoia of the Reagan administration was perfectly illustrated by Stone's inclusion of a rambling speech by ol' Ronnie where he lists a number of continents (continents, not countries!) that he saw as possibly conspiring to attack America.
My only beef with the movie is Woods' ludricrously idealistic speech right at the end about what it means to be an American. The speech is proceeded by one of the most incisive criticisms of American foreign policy ever in a Hollywood movie, so to first say that America has opposed free speech across the world and then to sing the virtues of the 'land of the brave' just doesn't make sense.
Anyone in possession of a conscience who would like to know more about the oppresiveness of the outside world but who doesn't know where to start, should definitely watch Salvador.