Soldier's Story

The problem with a film like "A Soldier's Story" is that too many will skip it because it is one of those black social films. They expect a boring bitchy sermon. That's too bad, because they miss out on one of the best ensemble films of the 1980s, not to mention a tough mystery story that navigates deep psychological waters in delivering a message far less rosy and doctrinaire than you might expect.

It is World War II, and just outside a Louisiana army base for "colored" troops, a black master sergeant is shot to death on a deserted road. Whites from the nearby town are suspected. Howard Rollins Jr. plays Capt. Davenport, a black lawyer sent by Washington to investigate. The expectation is he will ruffle no feathers and work instead at being what the base commander calls "a credit to your race." But Davenport quickly makes clear he isn't anyone's token, even if it means pressing white suspects or investigating the possibility that whites didn't kill Sgt. Waters at all.

Today, you see the film and notice Denzel Washington has a major role as one of Sgt. Waters' men. But the star of the film is neither him nor Rollins, but Adolph Caesar as the doomed Sgt. Waters. "They still hate you!" he almost laughs as he is being murdered, and one of the many mysteries sorted out in the film is that Waters wasn't talking to the killer but himself.

Waters is bent out of shape not only over white American attitudes towards blacks, but his own attitude about how a black person can be more acceptable in white society. He expresses admiration for Nazi Germany, noting that they have a commendably direct way at getting at the problem of racial purity. For him, the black race is held down by a certain type of southern black, "geechies" he calls them, who play to white stereotyping by not speaking correct English and so on.

Caesar tackles Sgt. Waters as if his were a Shakespearean role, and in a way it is, Shylock crossed with Richard III, filtered through a multitude of American racial prisms, white on black, black on white, black on black. His every twitch and body shudder come over perfectly, especially when you watch a second time. Even in smaller moments, like when he's getting ready to beat the tar out of Denzel, and is joshing with the other non-coms, he never lets go of that glint in his eye or his hold on the viewer's jugular.

Though Rollins and Washington are both very good in support, even better is Art Evans as Waters' sad flunky, Wilkie, who gives two contradictory depositions to Davenport and the deepest insight as to what made Waters tick. Dennis Lipscomb as Capt. Taylor is also fantastic, a white officer who tells Davenport frankly he doesn't want him investigating the murder because of the color of his skin. Taylor's not a bigot, mind, he just wants justice and fears a black officer won't be able to make an arrest in Louisiana. Taylor's more socially awkward than anything else, and scripter Charles Fuller, working from his great "A Soldier's Play," has a lot of fun with him and his exchanges with Davenport.

When Davenport tells him of an especially cruel trick Waters played, Taylor refuses to believe it. "Colored people aren't that devious," he says, a nice line in that you discover Taylor's racism and his naive decency simultaneously.

In his DVD commentary, director Norman Jewison doesn't mention his earlier "In The Still Of The Night," which is odd given the many parallels between the two films. Both are murder mysteries set in the American South with blacks and whites butting heads. Rollins even went on to appear in "Still Of The Night" the TV series. I don't see this film as a copy of that earlier one, but a variation on the same theme, and in many ways an improvement.

Instead of noble Sidney Poitier, you have a deep raft of black acting talent representing a variety of different attitudes and moral shadings. Real stock is taken, too, of America's racial divide, how people can still feel American enough to want to die for their country even if it won't let them drink from the same water fountain. There's something heartbreaking about the scene where we see the black soldiers celebrating being sent off to combat, in the wake of what happened to WWI hero Sgt. Waters. Will they come back with memories of their own Cafe Napoleon?

Commerating the 20th Anniversary of a brilliant classic!

This was one of the most powerful films that came out in 1984. Director Norman Jewison(In The Heat Of The Night)adaptation of the Puliitzer Prize-winning play(by Charles Fuller) and numerous NAACP awards for best achievement in African-American literature,tells about the ramificiations of racism and loyalty through the prism of blacks in the military,revealed through a mystery set in the 1940's deep South. Howard E. Rollins(Ragtime,and from the TV series In The Heat Of The Night)plays a military investigator,Captain Davenport,who is assigned to the murder of a drill instructor,Sergeant Waters,played by Adolph Caesar(The Color Purple),who was in charge of a black platoon during World War II. Under pressure from his superiors to wrap his investigation up quickly,Rollins instead delves deeply into the relationships between the despised drill instructor and his men,uncovering lies and animousity,and confronting the question of what it means to be black in a white man's world. Rollins delivers a riveting,stoic,emotional lead into the role of Captain Davenport while Caesar gives an electrifying performance as the Sergeant. A lot of fresh faces gives brilliant performances throughout the film including one from a youthful Denzel Washington,who makes an early appearance as a soldier with a deep grudge against the drill instructor and a deep mistrust of Rollins' investigator. Look for appearances by Larry Riley, David Alan Grier,Robert Townsend,and Patti LaBelle. A powerfully written story that makes the most of its large and impressive ensemble cast which still is enthralling--some 20th after its release.

MPAA Rating: PG-For Language,Racial Overtones and Comment,Violence.

"A Soldier's Story," directed by Norman Jewison, tells a very powerful and tragic tale of black racism in WWII America. It is equally puzzling and disturbing and will leave you thinking about it for a long time to come.

The story takes place at a military base in the American South during the last full year of the Second World War, in 1944. Sergeant Vernon Waters, a Black man, is shot to death. The locals, as well as the Black enlisted men at the base, believe it to be the work of the Ku Klux Klan. Captain Davenport, also a Black man, as well as the first Black officer most of the men at this base have ever seen, is asked to investigate this. The White officers all want to see this matter brought to a swift and tidy conclusion in order to prevent what they see as a potential race riot between the Black soldiers and local Whites around town.

Davenport (deftly played by the late Howard E. Rollins Jr.) questions the enlisted men at the base, and begins to learn that the murdered sergeant(Adolph Ceaser in an Oscar-nominated performance) had no shortage of enemies, White and Black.

Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Waters is a man of great personal pride and dignity, a man who believes that the African-American race has great potential to "take it's rightful place in history" alongside the White race in America. But his pride is also fueled by a terrible hatred of Black men, mostly Southern men, who he believes are hurting the race by presenting themselves as lower-class bumpkins; the stereotypical shiftless, lazy, ignorant types; the smiling, singing clowns; the "yassah-boss niggers."

One soldier, C.J. Memphis, a simple but charming, illiterate, guitar-strumming man, comes to personify these character traits in Waters' eyes. The clash between those two personalities is a crucial centerpiece to this movie's message.

Ceaser is astonishing as Waters, a man so full of loathing and bile towards his own people, you can feel it oozing off the screen. His best moment occurs in a bar where he stares into a mirror and talks in a dark tone about his unit's heroic efforts in France in the First World War, and how one Black soldier destroyed that sterling image in the minds of many White Frenchmen.....and what Waters did in response. It's chilling.

An undervalued film that you may have to look a little harder in your local video store to find, but well worth the effort!

This is an excellent film, at it's heart a case study in human psychology, but also a mystery and an intriguing one at that. The cast, mostly unknowns at the time, is fantastic and contains many now-familiar faces, most notably Denzel Washington and David Alan Grier. Adolph Caesar was nominated for an Oscar and Howard Rollins, Jr. probably should have been. Another highlight (at least for me) are the songs sung by Larry Riley and Patte LaBelle. This is a gem of a film, one that is most highly recommended.

This is one of my all time favorite movies. The thing that I find so amazing is that few people have ever heard of it much less seen it. The acting and story line is excellent. This is one of those great whodunits with a great twist that compels us to examine our stereotypes and presumptions. If you find yourself looking for a great tip at the video store check this movie out. I think you'll enjoy it.