(**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**)
Movies like this set the political tone for the 1960's, and contrary to the title, it wasn't as anti-American as it looks. While it never denied that the communist bloc were the true imperialists, it never overlooked the fact that some issues are more complicated than whether or not one group or another was pro-communist. Marlon Brando plays Harrison Carter MacWhite, the new U.S. Ambassador to South Sakhalin, who tries to diffuse the growing political tension in the country. And from the beginning, we realize it's going to be one hell of a battle.
The following factions must be distinguished here:
The United States of America: Determined to stop the communist threat since 1945, and help other nations do so.
The Soviet Bloc: Determined to spread communism by any means necessary, just like in real life.
The Kingdom of South Sakhalin: A far-eastern monarchy split in half after axis and colonial occupation, by the Soviet Bloc.
The People's Republic of North Sakhalin: A creation of the Soviet Union for the sole purpose of expanding communism throughout Sakhalin, just as they've done in real life in Europe(Karelo-Finnish S.S.R., Armenian S.S.R., East Germany, East Austria, Warsaw Pact), Japan(Kurile Islands), Korea(North Korea), Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia(North Vietnam).
The people of Sakhalin: Prefers to wish the entire cold war away, despite the fact that their country is already being turned into it's next battleground.
For the record, we must keep in mind that when the book this movie was based upon was written the USSR and Red China were still allies, so it's not so far-fetched that they would work together to spread communist terror. Are the rebels lead by Brando's ex-friend really lead by communists? Maybe and maybe not. But regardless, the reds are determined to steal the revolution from the people, just as they've done in real life. Also, contrary to the lies of the far-left today we have NOT "deteriorated into a war-mongering world-wide dictatorship." The moral of the ending is far too obvious -- if we ignore the facts and details of each situation during the cold war, we will lose. And part of the reason we lost in Vietnam, besides the fact that anti-war protesters distorted the truth about why we were there in the first place, was that many refused to take the grievances of those who were dissatisfied with the South Vietnamese government seriously.
Movies like this set the political tone for the 1960's, and contrary to the title, it wasn't as anti-American as it looks. While it never denied that the communist bloc were the true imperialists, it never overlooked the fact that some issues are more complicated than whether or not one group or another was pro-communist. Marlon Brando plays Harrison Carter MacWhite, the new U.S. Ambassador to South Sakhalin, who tries to diffuse the growing political tension in the country. And from the beginning, we realize it's going to be one hell of a battle.
The following factions must be distinguished here:
The United States of America: Determined to stop the communist threat since 1945, and help other nations do so.
The Soviet Bloc: Determined to spread communism by any means necessary, just like in real life.
The Kingdom of South Sakhalin: A far-eastern monarchy split in half after axis and colonial occupation, by the Soviet Bloc.
The People's Republic of North Sakhalin: A creation of the Soviet Union for the sole purpose of expanding communism throughout Sakhalin, just as they've done in real life in Europe(Karelo-Finnish S.S.R., Armenian S.S.R., East Germany, East Austria, Warsaw Pact), Japan(Kurile Islands), Korea(North Korea), Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia(North Vietnam).
The people of Sakhalin: Prefers to wish the entire cold war away, despite the fact that their country is already being turned into it's next battleground.
For the record, we must keep in mind that when the book this movie was based upon was written the USSR and Red China were still allies, so it's not so far-fetched that they would work together to spread communist terror. Are the rebels lead by Brando's ex-friend really lead by communists? Maybe and maybe not. But regardless, the reds are determined to steal the revolution from the people, just as they've done in real life. Also, contrary to the lies of the far-left today we have NOT "deteriorated into a war-mongering world-wide dictatorship." The moral of the ending is far too obvious -- if we ignore the facts and details of each situation during the cold war, we will lose. And part of the reason we lost in Vietnam, besides the fact that anti-war protesters distorted the truth about why we were there in the first place, was that many refused to take the grievances of those who were dissatisfied with the South Vietnamese government seriously.