Boot Camp (film)
| Boot Camp | |
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| Directed by | Christian Duguay |
| Produced by | Chad Oakes Michael Frislev Christian Duguay |
| Written by | John Cox Agatha Dominik |
| Starring | Mila Kunis Gregory Smith Peter Stormare Christopher Jacot Tygh Runyan Colleen Rennison Regine Nehy Grace Bauer |
| Music by | Normand Corbeil |
| Cinematography | Christian Duguay |
| Editing by | Sylvain Lebel |
| Studio | CD Films Edgey Productions Nomadic Pictures |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | November 1, 2007 (American Film Market) |
| Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14,000,000 |
Boot Camp is a 2007 psychological suspense thriller feature film written by Agatha Dominik and John Cox and directed by Christian Duguay.[2][3][4]
The film's working title was Straight Edge[5][6] and was shot in Fiji as the first film to utilize the southwest Pacific Ocean island country's five-year-old incentive program that had been designed to create jobs while building a film production infrastructure.[7][8] It is about teenagers sent to a rehabilitation camp (in Fiji) who are then abused and brainwashed.[2] The film stars Mila Kunis, Gregory Smith and Peter Stormare.[2] Filming began on October 2, 2006 in Fiji[9] and then continued in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.[10]
The film was released on DVD internationally in 2007 and in the U.S. on August 25, 2009.[2]
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[edit] Plot
This film is the story of a group of unruly teenagers whose parents send them to a rehabilitation boot camp to turn them around. The camp collects each child individually, then delivers them to the boot camp facility on a remote island in Fiji. There are no walls to stop the teenagers from leaving, but escape is impractical due to the surrounding sea. On arriving at the camp, the teenagers are forced to wear cuffs with sensors around their ankles — if they attempt to escape, security will be alerted.
Dr. Hail, who runs the camp, forces the teens to work constantly. He has them clean the camp, grow plants, and has them rebuild the camp after it was damaged in a storm. Campers are required to wear color coded t-shirts. First, new arrivals are given black t-shirts. They progress to yellow and then white. The teens earn a white shirt once they have been "corrected". They do not do work; they become staff members and abuse the other inmates and monitor their work. Among the staff is Logan, an ex-soldier. He is very tough towards the inmates and makes deals with girls in exchange for sex.
The main teenagers featured are Sophie, her boyfriend Ben, Danny and Trina. As time passes on the island, Sophie rebels against Dr. Hail, and once Ben joins her, the two escape to a nearby island. However, they are recaptured, and Ben is told he will be sent home. One morning, while on a run, Logan, has the male teenagers go swimming. However, Danny, who can't swim, drowns, and Logan tries to get Ben to help cover it up by threatening him with solitary confinement, but Ben refuses.
Meanwhile, Sophie discovers that Logan has raped Trina, and when Logan is put before the camp to admit responsibility for Danny's death, she reveals this to the rest of the teenagers, many of whom also were offered yellow shirts by Logan in exchange for sex. As the teenagers surround Logan, Sophie turns the attention onto Hail, at which point Ben announces to the shocked teenagers that this isn't the first death to occur on a camp run by Dr. Hail.
The teenagers run amok, burning down the entire campsite, and then go after Logan, who dies when his jeep crashes into a burning building. At this point they turn their attention solely to Hail, who tries to shoot them in the hope that he can restore order. However, after finding out his gun wasn't loaded, he is thrown into solitary confinement, to be left for the police to arrest. As the film fades out we see images of the teenagers celebrating freedom swimming in the ocean. A message also appears on screen stating that since the 1970s, when these type of camps were introduced in real life, over 40 deaths have occurred. Based on a true story.
[edit] Cast
- Mila Kunis as Sophie
- Gregory Smith as Ben
- Peter Stormare as Dr. Norman Hail
- Christopher Jacot as Danny
- Tygh Runyan as Logan
- Colleen Rennison as Ellen
- Regine Nehy as Trina
- Grace Bauer as Danny's Mom
- Daniel Hayes as Marine
[edit] Reception
Choi Jung-in of South Korea's JoongAng Daily wrote, "From the outset, director Christian Duguay makes it clear that Boot Camp is based on true events. ...I loved Duguay’s message that children should never be abused under the pretext of parental love."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, details for Boot Camp, accessed 01-25-2009
- ^ a b c d e [2] JoongAng Daily (Korean), By Choi Jung-in (January 16, 2009), "[DVD Review] When tough love doesn’t work", accessed 01-24-2009
- ^ reelzchannel.com. Boot Camp, accessed 01-24-2009
- ^ cinema.theiapolis.com, Boot Camp (2007), accessed 01-24-2009
- ^ Dark Horizons, By Garth Franklin (September 25, 2006), "Finding The Straight Edge In Fiji", accessed 01-25-2009
- ^ [3] Turner Classic Movies, Straight Edge, accessed 01-25-2009
- ^ [4] Daily Variety, by Dave NcNary (September 2006). "Fiji film incentives lure 'Straight Edge'", accessed 01-25-2009
- ^ [5] New York Times, Straight Edge (2007), accessed 01-25-2009
- ^ Sports Shooter, by Chris Large (January 30, 2007), "Boot Camp in Fiji", freelance photographer Chris Large writes of his adventures for Sports Shooter, accessed 01-25-2009
- ^ Hollywood Up Close, Boot Camp, accesses 01-24-2009
[edit] External links
- Boot Camp at the Internet Movie Database
- Boot Camp at the New York Times
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