Fortress (1986)
Reviewed by Gordon Kearns
Please be informed: Key plot elements (SPOILERS) are included in this review.
A schoolteacher (Rachel Ward) and her nine mixed age and sex pupils in rural Australia are kidnapped by four hoods masked as characters from kid stories - Father Christmas, Mac The Mouse, Pussy Cat, and Dabby Duck. There's no question about the threat they pose to their captives' lives. These are not gentle men. They're ruthless, maniacal and desperate. The group is put in what their kidnappers think is safe keeping, a dark cave with the entrance blocked off, while the men set about to issue their ransom demands. The kids represent a variety of personalities, but there was little real stereotyping. The kids would have been natural in any real life class I've ever dealt with in my teaching career. The story progresses unsurprisingly as the captives under the leadership of the teacher and a couple of the older boys seek and find a way out of the cave by another route, requiring swimming under water for a short period. A decent suspense-laden sequence. What the viewer doesn't realize is that the story development thus far, and then into their later recapture at a farmhouse, is only a prelude to the real and unexpected story explosion to come, where the relationships and interdependence that have evolved in these first sequences, and the group's individual inner strengths and capacity for courage have been established. Stripping to their briefs and panties for the swim represents their stepping away from their old world and its social norms and into their own world of survival, where need will dictate propriety.
After their recapture, they're thrown into the trauma of witnessing the elderly farm couple murdered before their eyes; and worse, the kidnappers have let it be known that one child would be killed every hour until the ransom is paid. This is not a threat that in any way can be doubted - by the viewer or the captives. Even the youngest of the group understands the peril they face. Their evolved interdependence is not to be taken in any minor token way. Each plays a continuing key role in the survival of all. It is obvious that there will be no survival unless they all act together. No sudden Hollywood realization of this. Almost from the beginning this is apparent. The lack of pat stereotypes allows a more natural realization of the strength of regular type people/kids acting together for their common survival. Again, I could see these kids in my own classrooms. And the teacher. It's at the farm that they begin to assert the power they possess as a group. And here is where the story dives into a depth not typical of such movie situations. They work a second escape, and take refuge on a rocky tor with a secure cave. By this time, one of the kidnappers, who they'd subdued through a clever, but dangerous ruse has died in the fire they'd left burning in the barn where they were being held. Their hands are bloodied, so to speak. They'd also heard a second kidnapper get shot and killed when he challenged the leader's intention of killing the captives. The kids call the leader Father Christmas, for the mask he wears. So two kidnappers remain. But the two strongest, most ruthless, and most threatening. The kids and teacher find a new refuge in a high tor and cave; and it is here that they dramatically resolve to turn the tide of events around. An affecting sequence. No longer will they flee in panic from the enemy; here they will make their stand. They set about making a "fortress" of their tor and cave, surrounded by booby traps lined with sharp home-made spears. And each kid, and the teacher as well, carries a spear.
The inevitable confrontation comes. No big surprise there. That the group comes out the winner is no surprise. The story really shifts into a noir mode as they manage kill each of the two remaining kidnappers in turn. Their relief turns into a joyful macabre victory dance with the death of the first kidnapper. And when they finally lure Father Christmas into their trap and subdue him, they are so captivated by their battle for survival that they don't stop subduing him, pounding and stabbing and beating his dead body (Disney never had a scene like this). And these were kids just like I have known. But even more, the teacher is right alongside them as they do the guy in, and do the guy in. A violent release from the terrible tension they were enduring.
But perhaps the most chilling scene was later when they were all back in their schoolyard doing all the typical things kids do in schoolyards, with the teacher reading a story (the apt Beowolf and Grendel legend) to the group gathered around her. A policeman and state investigator arrive. They have questions about the story the teacher told of how one of the kidnappers met his demise. "Our investigation, while not conclusive, suggests that the man's injuries weren't consistent with your story that animals had mutilated the body." As they speak with the teacher, they find themselves gradually surrounded by children, none of whom is wearing a child-smile (one of theirs was being threatened). The air is filled with intimidation, and the investigators nervously admitted the evidence is inconclusive and depart, effectively closing the inquiry. As they leave, the class dissolves into typical class activities again. The camera goes into the credits focusing on the table of science specimens, which includes a human heart in a bottle, the trophy the children had taken from their battle. What made this most chilling was the normalcy of the group. None of that weird-eye effect, or eerie smile stuff. The kids fought, survived, took their trophy, and got on with their lives, but what they did would always be part of their characters.
There's an epic flavor to this story of unlikely, but mythic heroes, who came from the ranks of everyperson.
The movie was directed by Arch Nicholson
Cinematographer: David Connell
The ensemble cast of Rachel Ward, who played the teacher, along with the youthful actors and actresses portraying the kids in her class, performed with uniform excellence. The children were played by: Sean Garlick, Marc Gray, Bradley Meehan, Rebecca Rigg, Beth Buchanan, Asher Keddie, Anna Crawford, Richard Terrill, and Robin Mason.
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Comments: GKEARNS@prodigy.net