Kokoda: 39th Battalion

While this film is not without it's flaws, it is definitely worth seeing. I found the dialogue hard to distinguish at times, and the plot line takes a little sorting out but the visuals work to stunning effect. It is a film that evokes a visceral (not to say gut-wrenching) response; one that brings the viewer much closer to understanding the nerve-jangling, terrifying experience of war, and the fortitude required to endure it.

Grierson's starting point are the words of the Isurava Memorial. It was the 'courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice' of the boys and men of the 39th, 2/14th and 2/16th battalions, that bound these ordinary individuals together into a force stronger than the combined effects of their circumstances and the Japanese army.

The film is graphic in its depiction of the demands that that environment makes upon you physically. Though while watching it you might not feel the strength sapping jungle humidity or smell the stench of battle and its aftermath, you're left in no doubt about the challenges placed on human bodies by dysentery and malaria.

This is no glorification of war, but its grim and gritty reality. Seeing the film will help you appreciate the efforts of those who were there.