FAREWELL TO THE KING

by Pierre Schoendoerffer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1970

M. Schoendoerffer, a French film director whose documentary, ""The Anderson Platoon"" allowed the very fact of war to be its own condemnation, tells a Conradian tale of jungle warfare and a white king of some Borneo tribes during World War II. A British ex-botanist and an Australian sergeant are parachuted into Borneo in the closing year of the war to organize native support for Allied thrusts against the Japanese. In the jungle the two men are taken by Murut tribesmen to their chief, Learoyd, an Irish deserter who has established what amounts to a feudal kingdom. Learoyd, a somewhat mad but ingenious and competent ruler struggling to keep his domain intact and independent, is persuaded to aid the Allies, and harasses the Japanese. But inevitably, near and after the close of the war, the Dutch and British governments cannot tolerate a tiny but threatening independent territory. Also, within the jungle, suffering, death and disease break down traditional alliances. Learoyd is betrayed--finally deposed and imprisoned. The author unfortunately is given to an excess of tremulous commentary which transports Learoyd out of belief and reality (""Poor Learoyd, where is your victory now? King of the wind and rain. . . ""). However, in his use of a raw and terrifying jungle landscape with dying screams and curious oases of hope and humanity, the author has both diminished and magnified the varied ethic of war.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Stein & Day

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1970

Categories: FICTION