Canopy

Singapore, February 1942. An Australian fighter pilot is shot down over the jungle and must find his way back to Allied lines, through Japanese-held territory.

The basic plot is what made me watch this: the survival theme set in war time is intriguing. Initial set up is good too.

Moreover, from the beginning the striking feature of the movie is the scenery and cinematography. Is very well done, with lush junglescapes and the stillness and peacefulness of nature contrasting with the violent war and life-or-death struggle the airman is engaged in. It reminded me a lot of the cinematography in Terrence Malick's 'The Thin Red Line'.

However, after the intriguing set up there is really very little in the way of plot development or substance. A human/relationship drama is introduced but it is not developed to much of an extent. The middle 60% or so of the movie involves far more style than substance, with the scenery largely replacing plot development.

Conclusion is fairly good and has an emotional element, but even that is underplayed.

Ultimately, okay, but could have been much better. Fairly disappointing.

Be prepared, this movie is about 95% dialogue free. What little there is, is in Chinese or Japanese. The remaining sounds are of the beautifully filmed backdrop, the jungle and all its encompassing wildlife. Oh, I almost forgot the gunfire in the distance. Even though there is minimal talking, as another reviewer mentioned, this film is best viewed at night in a dark room with the volume nice and loud. This way you really feel as though you're a part of what's taking place with the sounds of the jungle encompassing you, if you have a nice home theater set-up. Having taken place in 1942, I was expecting a "period film", but this really could have taken place anytime since then. This film was nothing like I expected but I was in no way disappointed. It was beautifully filmed, acted and leaves you thinking. I highly recommend it to anyone!

I read the reviews before watching this movie so I was already a bit prepared of what I was going to see. I read there was not much dialogs and to me for a good movie sometimes it's not even necessary. But in this movie there is almost no conversation at all. The only line the main character had to remember is his name. He said it twice and that's it. I don't say Khan Chittenden failed as an actor because his expressions of fear and anguish are good but since there are two actors I thought a little bit of conversation would have done good to the movie. So the movie will just be liked by people that like jungle scenery. Nature is the only thing that keeps the movie interesting but then I wonder if I was not better going on a walk in the forest instead of watching this movie.

This is a very good film for its story and plot, whatever others may say about a lack thereof. It is without dialogue, which allows the viewer to concentrate on the actual events of the film.

However, the film is lacking in several important aspects. First of all, it is not all that historically accurate. The events of the film are loosely based on a certain circumstantial incident that occurred in real life: two soldiers went out on some scouting mission or whatever and didn't return. They were found just over a quarter of a mile away a week later, dead. Nobody knows what happened; the film basically takes the premise and then creates a completely unrelated story out of it.

Second, although partially filmed on-site where actual military action took place, the so-called "canopy" is nothing like the real southeast-Asian forests.

Third, there is little actual action. Yes, plenty of stuff goes on, but there is little combat. This is a war film, in the jungles of Singapore, no less. There should be combat, because that's what happened.

Given the vast liberties taken with this film, the result is surprisingly good, though it feels a bit unpolished, if not rushed.

Worth the watch if you are not looking for accuracy but want a human-experience thing.

Its amazing what can be achieved with a small crew and low budget. But with a vision of telling a compelling story and a good camera. This film has very little dialog or musical accompaniment. The audio track is astounding, as we're dropped into a rain-forest that's been overrun by the Japanese during WWII. We get the sounds of war and the jungle. I was riveted. I love the close encounters with the life of the place. Feel the bugs crawling on my skin. A unique piece of cinematic art deserving of positive critical review. I've seen lots of WWII movies over the years, but nothing like this. Another plus: none of the blood or violence or men with guns that is usual with the genre. More awards please!