It's Petersburg, Transvaal, South Africa 1901. During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants Harry Morant (Edward Woodward), Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown) and George Witton (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) are on trial for killing some Boer prisoners and a German missionary after their Capt. Hunt was killed. They are scapegoats and Lord Kitchener needs to convict them to appease the Germans. However they claim that they were following the rules of war laid down by Hunt which comes from the top Kitchener. It's a show trial where the judges are predisposed and the defense lawyer is inexperienced in military court. The Boer attack the prison and the three men heroically beat them back. The show trial goes on.
This is not an anti-war movie. These guys are portrayed as heroes for much of the movie. This is more or less anti-British military. That's an easy target. These characters are complicated and I wish they are played just a little bit more complicated. They need to be a bit more brutal. During the Boer attack on the prison, they are more like Rambo. There is a fascinating but a little slow court procedural where the defense starts out strong and turns murky. The final defense closing arguments are awkward. It's a movie that leaves me questioning the need of the movie to make martyrs of these men.
This is not an anti-war movie. These guys are portrayed as heroes for much of the movie. This is more or less anti-British military. That's an easy target. These characters are complicated and I wish they are played just a little bit more complicated. They need to be a bit more brutal. During the Boer attack on the prison, they are more like Rambo. There is a fascinating but a little slow court procedural where the defense starts out strong and turns murky. The final defense closing arguments are awkward. It's a movie that leaves me questioning the need of the movie to make martyrs of these men.