"Tribes" tells the story of a 1960s American hippy flower child who fails to adjust to the grimness of military life after being drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps. A very young Jan Michael-Vincent stars as Adrian, the flower child. Darren McGavin plays the role of Gunnery Sergeant Drake, the hard-as-nails veteran platoon drill instructor.
Adrian proves himself to be a superior recruit, dealing with the stresses of military training by resorting to his inner self. He eventually teaches the rest of his platoon (clandestinely, of course, to avoid the ever-watchful and disapproving eye of the DI) meditative techniques such as yoga. In one hilarious scene, Sgt. Drake walks into the barracks to find Adrian meditating while leaning against the wall, standing on his head -- naked. In an instant, Adrian is locked at attention, explaining to the drill instructor that he was naked because, "I like the freedom, sir!" Drake's head nearly explodes as he nears to within an inch of the boot's face and screams, "THERE WILL BE NO FREEDOM IN MY PLATOON!"
Even though the finest boot in the group, Adrian eventually desserts before completing boot camp. Drake, frustrated at his platoon's finest member, nevertheless doesn't give up and tracks Adrian down. Adrian tells Drake he'll never use a weapon against another human being; Drake replies that he's had to do just that for the mere privilege of being able to sit and talk to Adrian.
Can Drake convince Adrian to return?
But that's not the end of the story.
"Tribes" (in spite of its anachronisms, readily identifiable by those who've been there) is one of the most faithful efforts of depicting the U.S. Marine Corps -- especially boot camp -- in a movie. It is invariably compared to Kubrick's much more profane, and ultimately more realistic, "Full Metal Jacket". But its message (and audience) is completely different. One should keep in mind that at the time the film was produced, every U.S. draftee was virtually guaranteed to be sent to the still raging war in Vietnam.
"Tribes" is an astonishing achievement for a made-for-TV movie.
Adrian proves himself to be a superior recruit, dealing with the stresses of military training by resorting to his inner self. He eventually teaches the rest of his platoon (clandestinely, of course, to avoid the ever-watchful and disapproving eye of the DI) meditative techniques such as yoga. In one hilarious scene, Sgt. Drake walks into the barracks to find Adrian meditating while leaning against the wall, standing on his head -- naked. In an instant, Adrian is locked at attention, explaining to the drill instructor that he was naked because, "I like the freedom, sir!" Drake's head nearly explodes as he nears to within an inch of the boot's face and screams, "THERE WILL BE NO FREEDOM IN MY PLATOON!"
Even though the finest boot in the group, Adrian eventually desserts before completing boot camp. Drake, frustrated at his platoon's finest member, nevertheless doesn't give up and tracks Adrian down. Adrian tells Drake he'll never use a weapon against another human being; Drake replies that he's had to do just that for the mere privilege of being able to sit and talk to Adrian.
Can Drake convince Adrian to return?
But that's not the end of the story.
"Tribes" (in spite of its anachronisms, readily identifiable by those who've been there) is one of the most faithful efforts of depicting the U.S. Marine Corps -- especially boot camp -- in a movie. It is invariably compared to Kubrick's much more profane, and ultimately more realistic, "Full Metal Jacket". But its message (and audience) is completely different. One should keep in mind that at the time the film was produced, every U.S. draftee was virtually guaranteed to be sent to the still raging war in Vietnam.
"Tribes" is an astonishing achievement for a made-for-TV movie.