Kokoda (film)
| Kokoda | |
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| Directed by | Alister Grierson |
| Produced by |
Catriona Hughes Leesa Kahn |
| Written by |
Alister Grierson John Lonie |
| Starring |
Jack Finsterer Christopher Baker Ben Barrack Shane Bourne Angus Sampson Travis McMahon Ewen Leslie |
| Distributed by | Palace Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Kokoda (also known as Kokoda - 39th Battalion) is a 2006 Australian film directed by Alister Grierson and is based on the experiences of Australian troops fighting Japanese forces during the 1942 Kokoda Track campaign.
Due to budgetary restrictions, Grierson and co-writer John Lonie were forced to scale down the story, concentrating primarily on the trials and tribulations of one lost patrol.
In 1942, with the fall of Singapore, Australia lost nearly an entire division captured. The rest of Australia's professional military force – the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were still in the Middle East fighting the Axis. Australia then only had available conscripts who were considered unfit for combat duties. These were known as 'chocos' – it was believed that they would 'melt' away in the heat of battle. The chocos had been kept doing menial tasks such as working at unloading cargo.
Given the circumstances that these men were the only ones immediately available to defend New Guinea, they were rushed northwards with minimal, or no, combat training. From Port Moresby, they were sent over the torturous Owen Stanley Range along the only track – the Kokoda track till they came in contact with Imperial Japanese forces coming along the track from the other direction.
The story of Kokoda is of men from one of these units, under-trained, under-provisioned sent to face battle-hardened Japanese soldiers in a desperate effort to save Australia.
A motley crew of Australian militiamen or 'chocos' from the 39th Battalion are stationed in a New Guinea village just after the Japanese invasion. The 39th Battalion are the only troops available to hold off the Japanese advance until the AIF arrives to relieve them. The story centres on an infantry section of the 39th Battalion. The section with their platoon commander, an AIF lieutenant (Ben Barrack) who has served in North Africa, is on forward patrol when they are attacked by a Japanese force. The lieutenant is killed early in the battle and the section, led only by a recently promoted lance-corporal, Max (Simon Stone), decide to fall back. One of the men, L/Cpl Wilstead (Ewen Leslie), is bayoneted in the face by a Japanese soldier, and a Bren gunner called Blue (Christopher Baker) offers to stay and provide cover. However, the remaining men are cut off and surrounded in the dense jungle, with little hope of escaping. The Australians try to remain hidden until nightfall, when Darko (Travis McMahon) and Jack (Jack Finsterer) decide to go and find out where Blue is. They stumble across Blue, who is tied up and being tortured by Japanese soldiers. Darko and Jack look on helplessly as the Japanese soldiers bayonet him in the stomach and groin, and finally decapitate him with a sword. They return to their hiding place, shaken by what they have seen. The Japanese ambush the section and they run further into the jungle. Caught behind enemy lines in harsh terrain, Jack, to whom the others (including his brother, Max, have deferred) tries to maintain command of a small group of men. Suffering from malaria and dysentery, the remaining six men decide to make their way to Isurava, where the remainder of the 39th are fighting a desperate battle.
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