The Lion's Den

Lombardi's anti-war film is set high in the remote mountains of Peru, where the communists are in revolt against the government. A small platoon of soldiers establish a post in an Indian village. Their indecisive officer is ambushed and butchered, but none of the citizenry will admit to any knowledge of the guerillas. Career soldier Luna (Vega) is initially reassured by the arrival of tough Lieutenant Roca (Bueno), but increasingly alienated by the behaviour of his friend Gallardo (Tejada), who treats the Indians as sub-human. The enemy never surfaces, though the decimation of the army post continues, and it is this sense of impotence that finally sparks off a massacre of the villagers. Platoon, The Deer Hunter, and in particular, Philip Caputo's Rumours of War, tap into similar psychological terrain, though continents removed. A bit more heat under the pressure cooker and a bit more characterisation would have been welcome, but the film works steadily towards its final impact.