Buffalo Soldiers Review

Film fans, it's time to raise a cheer as after going A.W.O.L. for a whole two and a half years, the brilliantly sharp and sexy 'Buffalo Soldiers' has finally made it onto the shelves of a rental store near you. Gleefully mischievous and savagely funny, this is one portrait of the American army the US chiefs certainly don't want us to see. Set on a US base in Germany just days before the end of the Cold War, the G.I.'s on display here are corrupt, incompetent and, above all, bored out of their brains. A ripe market, in fact, for Joaquin Phoenix's canny army clerk whose black market dealings range from selling most of the base's supplies out from under the Commander's nose to a nice line in drugs. Indeed things are going pretty nicely for our hero until a ruthless new head of Military Police turns up on camp - complete with his attractive daughter Anna Paquin - just as Ray finds himself in possession of a whole stash of firearms.

Ruthless and dead-on target with its satirical sallies, 'Buffalo Soldiers' delivers a knock out blow to the idea of the good and free Army of Uncle Sam and what's more, it's a battle plan achieved with a whole barrage of dark giggles along the way. Phoenix is superb as the charismatic criminal, coolly exploiting the apathy around him while Ed Harris conjures up both the humour and pathos surrounding his character of the eternally hood-winked Commander. And while the carnage-heavy finale threatens to capsize the delicate tone, the romance between Phoenix and Paquin's characters just about succeeds in keeping the whole boat upright. And once you add to that a cooler than cool soundtrack by David Holmes and a brilliant evocation of a dramatic time in recent history, you've got a satirical gem that should go down in history as this century's 'Catch 22.'