Kokoda Film Analysis

The film Kokoda, directed by Alistair Grierson is a testament to the Kokoda campaign of World War II. The film accurately represents the nature of the harsh and unforgiving Kokoda trail, to a large extent. The accuracy of the terrain, medical support and the mental effect on the soldiers during Kokoda will be discussed within this essay. The film reflects the real stories of men both Australian and Papua New Guinean alike and how they struggled and fought the invading Japanese. However, it is a feature film, and with all multimedia content, exceptions to accuracy need to be made in order for the story to be translated to screen.

The terrain of Kokoda was one of the primary reasons of the trail becoming renown as one of the harshest battle

However, arguably the harshest impact that Kokoda had on any of the soldiers and men that fought there was psychological damage. Men returned home from Kokoda with severe PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) that due to the time period was left undiagnosed and untreated. This PTSD would stem from the constant duress the soldiers were under, constantly trying to be alert and ready for an enemy attack, hearing and enemy in the dense forrest, or hiding from enemy snipers were all everyday events that put these (often untrained) soldiers under extreme stress. In the film, the main character Darko (________) experience several nightmares foreshadowing the fate of his brother, these sorts of graphic nightmares are commonly associated with PTSD. Every soldier in the film experiences some sort of dramatic loss, they all then display real life reactions to those events. Such as wanting to go searching for a lost comrade, or becoming reckless, sducidal, or simply angry. These experiences are often regarded as triggers for PTSD. In an interview Lawrence Downes of the 39th Infantry battalion discusses his comrades, remembering in detail their lives, and then stating that ‘they are all gone bar one… …Those that didn't get killed there [at Kokoda] got killed up at Gona. They just kept pushing them back in.” It had been over 60 years between Kokoda and the time of the

There's a couple of them still alive. But their memories are gone. One of them was decorated. But at Kokoda in my original section three were given Military Medals. And there was only five of the originals there. So someone did some good.

They're all, bar one, gone. Ron Dryden died in Ballarat. Vic Smythe died - he had a block up at Robinvale. He got it after he'd been battling around Melbourne skinning rabbits and that. He put in for a block and he got a block up there. He's dead. Alec - he's still alive but he's had a stroke. He don't go anywhere. The rest of them are gone. Those that didn't get killed there [at Kokoda] got killed up at Gona. They just kept pushing them back in.”

(Lawrence Downes of the 39 Infantry Battalion, reflects on the fate of his friends during and after the Papuan