Apocalypse Now
Caution. Age: 18+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Apocalypse Now is a war movie set during the Vietnam War. An Army captain named Willard rides a small boat up a long river to find Colonel Kurtz, an officer who has gone mad and rules like a king in the jungle. Along the way Willard sees how war can ruin men's minds and hearts. This movie is very dark and is for grown-ups only. This is one of the most powerful films ever made about what sin does to men at war, and it does not flatter the evil it shows. It works like a descent into hell: each stop on the river is further from the moral law. What it lacks is any way back. There is no repentance, no mercy, and no grace, only horror seen clearly. Kurtz's claim that a soldier must kill without judgment is the lie at the center, and the film shows where it leads but never answers it with the truth. Add the extreme violence, nudity, drug use and language, and the verdict is Caution: for mature adults only, and never for teens.
For parents
Adults only. Lumen sets this above Common Sense Media's 16+. If your grown or nearly grown child watches it for a class, watch it first and talk after. Name the core error. Kurtz admires men who can commit atrocities with no feeling and no judgment, and he calls that strength. The Church teaches the opposite: the moral law stays fully in force during war (CCC 2312). Civilians, the wounded and prisoners must be treated humanely, and following orders never excuses a crime against them (CCC 2313). Ask: which scenes show soldiers breaking that law, and how does the film make us feel about it? Ask also about Willard. He is ordered to kill a man without trial. Does carrying out the order make him different from Kurtz? Point out what is missing. The film sees sin clearly but offers no forgiveness. A Christian knows evil is real and also that it does not have the last word. Warn viewers that a real water buffalo is killed on camera near the end. The longer Redux version adds more sexual content.