Born on the Fourth of July

REVIEW
Stone won a much-deserved Oscar as Best Director for this brilliant, gut-wrenching adaptation of Vietnam vet Ron Kovic's autobiography. Cruise gives a remarkable performance as the initially gung-ho soldier, whose life is covered in various, almost-episodic scenes, from his tour of duty and injury to the horrendous healing process to Kovic's gradual political awakening and activism. Although Stone's Platoon is generally acknowledged as a landmark in the myriad of war movies, Born is the definitive Vietnam film to date: for Kovic, like our country itself, began the war with undying faith, and endured a painful crippling and anguishing soul-searching which ultimately suggested we hadn't done the right thing.