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movie review - Lord of War

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Tokyo, 2007.04.12

This is a movie about an arms dealer who rides a knife's edge between a successful - and lucrative - career and the legal boundaries of the industry. He spends a lot of time fueling war in Africa, and we follow him through a number of harrowing developments on that continent, ranging from the AIDS epidemic to what amounted to World War Three being fought in the late 20th Century. It's a grim tale that's highlit by several memorable moments such as the total parts-stripping of an airplane in a day by desperate villagers. It's the conflicted nature of the lead's character that keeps this on track, as he is painfully aware of the many casualties but keeps finding a way to carry on.

Recommended.

rand()m quote

I feel fortunate that I enjoyed the blandishments of modernity. I had hip replacement and root canal. I was able to travel on airplanes. I was able to take cheap food for granted. I went to the movies. I enjoyed rock 'n' roll. And now I'm ready to move on.

—James Howard Kunstler