Kokoda (film)

Kokoda (also known as Kokoda - 39th Battalion) is a 2006 Australian war 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.

• Jack Finsterer as Jack Scholt
• Christopher Baker
• Ben Barrack
• Shane Bourne as Doctor
• Angus Sampson as Dan
• Travis McMahon as Darko Moey
• Ewen Leslie as Wilstead
• Steve Le Marquand as Sam
• William McInnes as The Colonel

In 1942, with the

Given the circumstances that these men were the only ones immediately available to defend

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

One of the soldiers, Sam (Steve Le Marquand), has been injured in the leg and orders the rest of the section to leave him behind. They refuse and he struggles along with a crutch. After a full day of walking, the men are exhausted. The next morning they awake to find Sam gone, having hidden himself in a hollow tree stump to avoid holding them up.

The men continue and are ambushed by a Japanese patrol. The Japanese soldiers are all killed, but Max is badly wounded by a gunshot to the stomach and is unable to walk. He is carried by all the men.

The section makes it to a village that has been destroyed by the advancing Japanese, and the Australians decide to take refuge. They bury the dead native villagers and an argument arises between Jack and Darko, a tough soldier who carries the section's Bren gun, over Max. Darko wishes to leave him behind as he is slowing the section down and they are needed at Isurava. Jack, however, wants to stay with him. However, Max decides to stay and let the others go and Johnno (

Meanwhile, at the village, a few Japanese soldiers arrive to search the village and in a desperate attempt to save the life of his mate, Johnno fires at the Japanese and runs into the jungle; however, he is tracked down and gunned down by the Japanese. A day or so later a New Guinea tribesman comes back to inspect the village and finds a badly wounded Max in the hut.

After a gut-wrenching climb, Jack, Darko and Burke are found by Australian troops, who take them to Isurava, where the situation is in dire straits. The AIF has finally arrived but they too are weak from the trek to Isurava. The 39th is no longer a capable fighting unit, and almost all of the men are too sick or wounded to fight. The three men check themselves into a makeshift field hospital for treatment. However an AIF officer comes in and asks for any available men from the 39th to help hold the line. Jack, Burke and Darko volunteer and they are assigned to a position held by men of the 2/16th Battalion.

That night the Japanese attack in waves against the Australian positions. The Australians, who are only equipped with rifles and machine guns, desperately hold off the Japanese. The Japanese are gunned down by the superior firepower of the Australians, but in the final seconds of the fight Burke is shot through the chest and dies in Darko's arms as the fight rages on. The Japanese end the assault and the battle is over.

The next day, the scant remainder of the 39th is paraded at Isurava village. The men are tired and haggard and receive news that they will be taken off the line and that they have just saved Australia from an imminent invasion. After the speech by the 39th's colonel (William McInnes), Jack and Darko withdraw with the rest of the soldiers. (The Australians withdrew from Isurava to take up positions at Brigade Hill.) While withdrawing, Jack and Darko spot Max being carried by Fuzzy wuzzy angels to an aid station. He has survived.

The movie was inspired by the true story of a forward patrol led by Lieutenant Sword that found itself cut off from supply at the beginning of the Battle for Isurava. After many frightening days making their way back to Isurava with no food, carrying the wounded and suffering from the effects of tropical diseases, they emerged from the jungle near Alola. Upon hearing that the 39th Battalion was about to be overrun, they joined a party of severely wounded men and made their way back to the battle.^[1]

The film barely shows the Japanese themselves in any detail – reflecting the claustrophobic jungle warfare – when the enemy could be just in front of you but hidden from sight.

Kokoda was shot on location at Mount Tamborine, Queensland.^[2]

The film received positive reviews from critics and currently holds a 71% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[3]

Paul Byrnes from The Sydney Morning Herald called the film "a glimpse of what this dirty, nasty, very personal corner of the war was like." In Australia the film made over $3 million in its first few weeks and became one of the highest-grossing Australian films of the year. One critic said that Kokoda was a worthy companion to Peter Weir's film