The Four Feathers

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The Four Feathers The Four Feathers is a film which primarily deals with the themes of friendship, courage, and redemption. It attempts to deal with the theme of love between a man and a woman as well, but on this front the film lacks.

The story deals with best friends Harry (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Wes Bentley) and their involvement in the British military around 1875. At this time, the British were quite keen on expanding their empire as far as possible, and so the two best friends and soldiers are warned that they will be called to fight for the Queen in the Sudan. Apparently there is an uprising of militant Muslims lead by a radical leader, and Britain sees fit to send off its military to quell this rebellion. This does not go over well in the mind of Harry, who has just become engaged to Ethne (Kate Hudson).

Harry promptly drops his commission in the army and in the process drops his claim at manhood. His friends, including his fiancée, send him the film’s namesake, four feathers, as a sign of cowardice. Harry has lost it all, and then discovers that his friends have fallen into danger out in the Sudan. He goes out on his own to the Sudan to seek redemption, to regain his much needed masculinity, and most of all to protect his best friends, proving that he is not a coward. Well, we can all be sure that he also goes to impress the girl, as is the motive behind so many masculine acts, but again, the romance between man and woman feels flat here even as the ties between friends is explored in better depth.

One of the most important things that the film captures is the growth of our hero Harry. In the beginning, Harry truly is a coward. He leaves all responsibility behind and tries to simply run away with his lover. But when he faces this reality as a coward, he owns up to responsibility, and seeks to redeem himself. Thus begins his transformation from coward to loyal friend, which takes him through hell on earth and back.

Another intense factor in this film is that Harry really goes into some horrible situations and places to seek the redemption he needs. This is not an easy task, and he puts his life on the line many times for the love of his friends. He almost dies in the desert, he almost dies in a prison, he almost dies in battle…this guy will not stop until he has saved his friends.

Does God have a presence in this film? Yes, God is very present in the character/conscience that Harry meets in the Sudan named Abou (Djimon Hounsou in an amazing performance… as one of the coolest characters we’ve seen in some time!). The interesting thing about this character is that he is always the one to bail Harry out from said desert, said prison, and said battles.

This character is the ultimate presence of self-sacrifice and loyalty, and the only discernable presence of Christianity in the film. Well, there is a fidget-inducing scene at the beginning of the film in which a church father commissions the soldiers by telling them that they are indeed a superior race of men, and that it is their God-given duty to destroy the heathens…yikes!

Yet the only reason Abou gives for constantly protecting Harry is that “God put you in my path�. Abou shows Harry the ultimate act of primal friendship as a lesson from God to our hero. Abou may not be a Christ like figure in his many acts of violence in battle, but his self-sacrifice, his willingness to give his life for Harry, is reminiscent of the all-sacrificing Christ. Harry learns as he goes what it really means to be a friend, and at the film’s conclusion, we are lead to believe that he has come to live by Abou’s creed…but we won’t give away the end just now.

Harry’s quest for redemption is a successful one, and the viewer learns along with him just how far we may have to go, just how much we may have to sacrifice, if we truly want to achieve what we think is right. Director Shekhar Khapur guides us through this quest with a sense of beauty in the settings, of sense of insanity and courage in battle, and a sense of conviction that if we are truly to live courageously, there are personal sacrifices that must be made.

Links
Overview -click here
Trailers, Photos -click here
About this Film -click here
Spiritual Connections -click here