Paper Example on Rafe & Danny: Best Friends in War-Torn Times

Part 1

The first scene of the movie "Pearl Harbour" shows the two lead characters, Rafe and Danny, playing at the farm. The two boys are best friends and share a dream of joining the navy as pilots. They almost crash the farm plane and are scolded by Rafe's father, who prohibits him from playing with his best friend. Danny proves a good friend by intervening as Rafe's father beats him. Rafe tells Danny that he is his best friend, and the pair separates. The war in Europe intensifies with German troops attacking France and Britain. The two boys, now grown up, are Lieutenants in the navy camp. Rafe's acceptance to volunteer in England's war arrives, and he decides to leave for England. To ease Danny's mind, he lies that his England call was commissioning and not voluntary.

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Rafe meets Evelyn, a nurse at the Pearl Harbour navy hospital, who helps him pass the medical test allowing him to pursue his England endeavor. As Evelyn injects Rafe, he attempts to ask her out, and while she is charmed by Rafe, she does not yield to his request. A minor accident provides Rafe with a chance to thank Evelyn for fixing his injury. The attraction between them is evident, and they end up sharing a romantic moment. Their relationship blossoms fast over the following month, and they are genuinely in love as Rafe sets out for England. Rafe promises to return to Evelyn once the war is over and tells Danny to break the news to Evelyn in case he dies in battle. Japan appears to plan an attack on America as America is dormant in the current World War II. Rafe and Evelyn write each other letters often. Rafe's plane falls in battle. Danny breaks the news to Evelyn, and they reminisce memories shared with Rafe. The encounters between Evelyn and Danny lead into a romantic evening. A relationship between the two begins resulting from their spending time together. Japanese spies keep tabs on Pearl Harbour, sending reports to their military base in Japan where their commanders orchestrate a surprise attack. American intelligence officials are wary of an imminent attack but do not know where to anticipate it. Rafe returns and goes to Evelyn oblivious of the changes in his absence. As Evelyn tells Rafe about her relationship with Danny, Danny shows up, and an infuriated Rafe storms off. The two best friends reconcile after fighting over at the bar. The Japanese air troops launch a surprise attack at Pearl Harbour and catch the American marine forces unaware. Many ships sink, and over three thousand soldiers die with many others wounded. America plots a retaliation plan, and marine troops disembark on training. Before Danny and Rafe leave for the secret mission, Evelyn approaches Rafe and informs him of her pregnancy, and they clear the tension between them before the strike team departs. A nervy voyage to Japan and airstrikes on Japanese docks and military factories is successful, but communication between the planes and control centers breaks. Tense moments ensue with empty fuel tanks and a lack of proper landing sites, and the planes crash. Danny is hurt, and Japanese soldiers intervene as Rafe attempts to help him. Danny is fatally shot as he tries to save Rafe's life. Danny dies after Rafe tells him of his unborn child. Chinese soldiers save the American marines. Evelyn's heart breaks on seeing Danny's body. American forces strengthen and prepare for future World War II battles. Rafe and Evelyn live together on a farm with their son.

Part 2: Movie Review

Pearl harbor is an entertaining movie. Particular points of interest are the incorporation of surprise, suspense, and deep emotional appeal. The element of surprise reveals in Japan's plot to attack America. Much as the plan is evident, the execution of the attack is surprisingly likable. Suspense sets in when Rafe's plane crashes into the sea, and the tension sets in on whether he survives or not. The movie is interesting as the anticipation of Rafe's return is uncertain though definite. The story of Rafe, Danny, and Evelyn, the moments of sadness, happiness, and even emotional disagreements captivate the audience. The emotions are contagious, and scenes like the return of Rafe arouse empathy and sympathy from the person watching. The moment where soldiers die in thousands leads in teary eyes with sadness surging. However, Danny's death was unnecessary, as Rafe and Evelyn had settled the tension between them. Justice should have favored him and let him live with his son and Evelyn.

The movie was good. The blend of love and war in the film in a harmonious setting is appealing. The directors incorporate a love story revolving around two best friends loving the same woman is powerful as their relationships affect other characters in the naval base. True friendship prevails, and the power of love keeps Rafe's will to return high, and he does. Another reason to applaud the movie is the concise change of scenes that allows one to understand the movie plot as it unfolds.

Part 3: A History Student's knowledge

Pearl Harbour presents history students with a chance to visualize battle scenarios learned in class. The presentation of soldiers dying, warships falling, and instigation of wars provides practicality to theoretical descriptions in history. A history student understands how warring continent factions lead to a larger civil war. Just like war starts in historical reports, so does it in the movie. War has a motive, and the movie portrays the process leading up to the war, just like in history.

The movie shapes the scenes or the World War II era in a vivid manner. The period has multiple but different dissents. Individual nations war with specific countries. German troops battle with France, and Britain while America was dormant in the war. German troops are revered Japan triggered America's participation in World War II with the attacks at Pearl Harbour. The movie shows the reason America joined World War II, having steered clear of the war before. The movie shows that 1941 the Pearl Harbour attack ushered the climax of World War II. The film reveals that America grew into the dominant World War II force after the retaliation.

Part 4: History vs. Hollywood

Pearl Harbour seems oriented to portraying Rafe as the hero. The movie focuses more on him than it should on the actual Pearl Harbour story. It is evident he is the main protagonist as the plot twist kills Danny. After disembarking from the retaliation attack, the other soldiers receive recognition together, but Rafe gets his medal from the President. Japan's cause of the attack in Pearl Harbour is not as significant as it should be. It does not feel enough to wage a civil war.

The movie contains historically accurate information. For one, that the Arizona ship sank with over a thousand soldiers on board concurs (Wikipedia). Japan attacks America at Pearl Harbour and leads to America joining World War II, just like history records show (Jenkins & P, 2019). The movie reveals that America became the ultimate global superpower after the Pacific fleet attack (Dockrill, 2016). The information is accurate as history records corroborate with it. American officials overlook Japan's planned attack just like they did according to history.

The inclusion of a love story and the relationship between best friends made the movie more interesting. The love story depicts some factors that source soldiers' resilience and vigor in battle. The movie creates a depth into the concept of war, showing a complex structure of aspects to war that extends beyond violence. The film idealizes several main characters who bring perspective into conflict and how different people play different roles during combat.

Violence extension scenes did not make the movie but constituted the director's cut (Mike, 2009). The CGI (Computer-generated imagery) effects in the director's scenes showed soldiers torn into pieces, and the graphic nature of the scenes caused their editing out.

References

Dockrill, S. (Ed.). (2016). From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima: The Second World War in Asia and the Pacific, 1941-45.Springer. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yAG_DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=pearl+harbor+&ots=4JO02VoIki&sig=7klXmjWvHem_lf0avbVCCFX-GgQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pearl%20harbor&f=false

Jenkins, P. S. (2019 June 8). Pearl Harbor. In War and Happiness (pp. 227-238). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-14078-6_10

Mike Lowrey (2009, August 7) Pearl Harbour. Comparison: Theatrical Version & Director's cut. https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=1971890Wikipedia. USS Arizona (BB-39). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arizona_(BB-39)