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Farewell To The King (1989) DVD Review
Farewell To The King (1989) DVD Credits:
Farewell To The King (1989) Directed by:
John Milius
Farewell To The King (1989) Written by:
John Milius
Farewell To The King (1989) Cast:
Nick Nolte, Nigel Havers, James Fox, Marilyn Tokuda, Frank McRae, Aki Aleong, William Wise, Gerry Lopez, Marius Weyers, Elan Oberon
Farewell To The King (1989) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Farewell To The King (1989) DVD Release Date:
5th June 2006
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Farewell To The King (1989) Synopsis:

In the last days of World War II, a British captain is parachuted into Borneo to organize resistance against the Japanese. In order to accomplish his mission, he must deal with an American who has made himself almost a God in the eyes of the local inhabitants.

Farewell To The King (1989) DVD Review:

This 1989 war epic seems to go by with remarkable speed, but don’t be fooled by this illusion. Based on Pierre Schoendoerffer’s novel “L’Adieu Au Roi”, the film seems to cover a great deal of time, but this is not shown in the film, so events seem to move fast in the jungle of Borneo. It seems to move fast despite the fact that very little happens for much of the film, and what does happen is somewhat uninspired. Nick Nolte seems just crazy enough to play the role of the white king, but all of the performances in the film seem uninspired. Perhaps it is the choppy balance between discussion of war and the light humor which seems sporadically inserted. Mostly there is no clear direction for the story to go in, and that can wear on an audience.

Farewell to the King starts with WWII at the Battle of Corregidor. American soldier Learoyd (Nolte) barely escapes capture by Japanese soldiers, but he is nearly taken by the jungle. He is found by a tribe of head-hunters in the wilds of Borneo. They nearly kill him until they see his tattoos, which make him divine in some way. Years pass and Learoyd becomes king of the tribe of Dyaks, at which point the Japanese attack the tribe. Learoyd gathers the tribe to fight for the freedom to stay in the land, with the help of a few American and British soldiers.

Farewell to the King begins slow but it moves fast. It seems as though a great deal of information is crammed into the first half, which is as boring as unnecessary. They try to set-up a fantastic sense of history mixed in with deeper issues, but it is all gone once the action starts. The action is much more exhilarating, but more importantly it helps to slow the film down some. The choppy narrative fades away briefly so that the action can flow smoother.

There seem to be issues in Farewell to the King which would be relevant in many other wars as well. The scenes in which the natives begin killing soldiers with guerilla methods is harrowingly familiar to Vietnam. The film is not completely irrelevant and it certainly isn’t outdated, but it also isn’t a great film.

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Farewell To The King (1989) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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