Casualties of War

Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox star in this unflinching look at the moral ambiguities of war and its dehumanizing effect on the combatants. In David Rabe's screenplay, based on a true story, Eriksson (Fox) is a recent arrival to Vietnam, a naive recruit in a squad of veterans. His loyalty to his hard-nosed sergeant, Meserve (Penn), is sealed when he rescues Eriksson from certain death, but the killing of the squad's radioman by a sniper pushes Meserve over the edge; he announces that they will kidnap a young Vietnamese woman and take her along for "entertainment" on a long-range mission. Eriksson can't believe his sergeant is serious, until he finds himself an unwilling participant in the abduction of Oahn (Thuy Thu Le). Eriksson's ensuing moral dilemma plays out with harrowing realism and brutal, unforgettable power.