The Patriot (analysis of the film) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Patriot (analysis of the film) - Essay Example The Patriot The American Freedom struggle has been the subject of many Hollywood movies. Roland Emmerich's 'The Patriot', released in 2000 was an epic film which created a stir worldwide.The film was released as a novel by Stephen Molstad in the same year. Mel Gibson won various acclaims for portraying the role of Benjamin Martin realistically. The plot of the film revolves around an ex war veteran who had fought for the French Government. A successful farmer and a father with seven children Benjamin Martin is shown as a man with principles, who has lost his belief in war. He is a neutral who does not support either the colonists or the crown. He simply says â€Å"I'm a parent. I haven't got the luxury of principles†. But war pulls him into action. Revenge as Motive Benjamin's plantation is targeted by the British armies. They kill one of his sons and take another as captive, burning his property and committing various atrocities just for helping some injured soldiers. Benjami n rescues his son with the help of his other children and starts working in favour of the colonists winning the war for them, though he suffers some personal losses from his side. The death of his beloved son and his loyal servants deeply scars Benjamin. He comes across various atrocities committed by the British army in the US to bring down the resistance. For example, we can mention the burning of his daughter in-laws village church along with all its citizens. The vengeance against the British army is portrayed in several places in the film. Gabriel his elder son is killed by Tavington. Leono Rippy, one of Martin’s confederate’s family members are burned down causing his suicide. Tcheky Karyo Martin’s second command-in line describes how both his daughters were burnt to death by the British people. These experiences turn him into a vengeneful man making revenge the main plot of the film. In a particular scene Benjamin and his colleague visits a filthy restaur ant to enlist soldiers for fighting in the American army. Nobody is particularly interested. But, once they say praise the British crown, everybody in the area starts attacking them with pitchfork, knives and rods. The hatred for the Europeans among the Americans is shown comically in this scene. Facts shown in the film Certain facts shown in the film are true while others are completely imaginative. The facts shown about the final battle of the film combined the incidents which took place in the Battles of Cowpens and Guilford court house. The facts are shown from the perspective of the American people rather than from the perspective of the British soldiers. In fact, they are depicted as monsters in most of the film undermining some major victories they achieved in the war. The film creates a rosy world where the good triumphs over the evil because the hero sacrifices his personal benefits and puts the nation in front of him. The Benjamin Martin Character is a combination of vario us real life war heroes like Joseph Plumb Martin and Francis Marion. Francis Marion known as the Swamp Fox is considered as one of the major soldiers behind the guerrilla attacks which were largely responsible for defeating the British Army during the American freedom fight. The war strategies of Benjamin Martin resemble the way Francis Marion fought. The Guerrilla groups always targeted the head of small platoons first. They were able to imprison the confused and leaderless soldiers much easily once the in-charge was captured. Benjamin's character is shown having a similar lifestyle and education to Joseph Plumb Martin. He belongs to a wealthy family, knows how to read and write and lived as a farmer for most of his life. The Benjamin Martin character's children were also named after original Martin's children as Nathan, Thomas and Susan. One major difference between the Joseph Plumb Martin and Benjamin Martin is that, Joseph volunteered in the American Freedom fight as a youngster and