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Apocalypse Now E O Coração Das Trevas: O Embate Entre Indivíduo E Sociedade

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Apocalypse Now E O Coração Das Trevas: O Embate Entre Indivíduo E Sociedade APOCALYPSE NOW E O CORAÇÃO DAS TREVAS: O EMBATE ENTRE INDIVÍDUO E SOCIEDADE APOCALYPSE NOW AND HEART OF DARKNESS: THE CLASH BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE SOCIETY 1 2 Lucas Calil Guimarães SILVA Renata Ciampone MANCINI RESUMO Apocalypse Now (1979), de Francis Ford Co- ppola, inspirado no romance O Coração das Trevas (1902), de : O filme XX.Joseph Este Conrad, trabalho discute pretende o conflito mostrar, entre embasado indivíduo pela e sociedadeSemiótica no contexto da Guerra do Vietnã, nos anos 60 e 70 do século- francesa, as estratégias utilizadas pelo diretor para explici tar essa oposição na linguagem cinematográfica e preservar a fidelidade temática em relação às questões abordadas pelo livro, passado durante o Imperialismo britânico na África, no PALAVRAS-CHAVE: - rias.século XIX. Cinema; Semiótica; Adaptações literá 1 Doutorando no Programa de Pós-graduação em Estudos de Linguagem da UFF – Universida- de Federal Fluminense. E-mail: [email protected]. 2 Docente da UFF – Universidade Federal Fluminense. E-mail: [email protected]. CASA: Cadernos de Semiótica Aplicada, v.12, n.1, 2014, p. 233-257 | 233 Lucas Calil Guimarães SILVA, Renata Ciampone MANCINI ABSTRACT: Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979), Heart of Darkness, by Joseph a film based on the romance Conrad, tackles the conflict between individual versus society in the Vietnam War context, between the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. This work aims to convey, following a semiotics approach, the director’s strategies to make this opposition explicit in the language of cinema at the same time that centurypreserves in theAfrica. thematic fidelity in relation to the questions raised in the book about the British Imperialism of the 19th KEYWORDS: Cinema; Semiotics; Literary adaptations. 1. Objetivos e hipótese - Apocalypse Now, Sustentada pela Semiótica francesa, esta análise objeti livrova estudar O Coração as temáticas das Trevas inerentes, de Joseph ao Conrad. filme Partimos da hi- de Francis Ford Coppola, cuja inspiração narrativa advém do- pótese de que há, entre as obras, uma profunda relação de fi delidade temática que, curiosamente, não está acompanhada- tadasde uma de compatibilidadeforma recorrente. figurativa. Ambos, para As questões a hipótese, existenciais discutem e psicológicas abordadas pelos objetos, porém, estão conec- - no abstrato nível fundamental o duelo paradoxal entre o indi víduo e a sociedade, o conflito entre as lógicas e as ordens es tabelecidas e os insurgentes contra os variados “sistemas”. Os opostos campos semânticos (indivíduo e sociedade), embora- sejam concretizados por figuras marcadamente diferentes em livro e filme, possuem efeito de sentido semelhante na consti tuição das obras. - Síntese dessa simbiose temática é a presença, nas duas obras, da reiteração isotópica da loucura, do desespero, da in 234 | CASA: Cadernos de Semiótica Aplicada, v.12, n.1, 2014, p. 233-257 APOCALYPSE NOW E O CORAÇÃO DAS TREVAS: O EMBATE ENTRE INDIVÍDUO E SOCIEDADE embasarcompreensão essa hipótese,e da solidão, primeiro campos descreverei temáticos e comentareique alicerçam al- a querela essencialApocalypse do nível Now fundamental. (sete, no total),E, para uma justificar de cada e episódio envolvendo a comitiva destacada para levar o coro- gumas cenas de nel Willard ao reduto de Kurtz. Depois, chegarei à relação do filme com o livro, descrevendo a simbiose entre ambos. 1.1. Sobre os objetos Apocalypse Now - O Poderoso Chefão I e II –narra, no (1979) – dirigido por Francis Ford Co ppola, criador dos épicos contexto da Guerra do Vietnã, a história ficcional do capitão Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), recrutado pelo exército americano para assassinar o coronel expatriado Walter E.- Kurtz (Marlon Brando), que desertou das forças armadas e instaurou um regime pagão num escondido reduto da flores ta vietnamita. Para chegar ao rebelado, Willard navega com- um pequeno grupo de soldados destacados através da selva impiedade,e dos riachos o desvario do país dose conhece, militares com e a profundidade,completa ausência a insa de nidade do ambienteApocalypse bélico, observando Now de perto a miséria, a lógica. A versão de analisada neste trabalho é a “Redux”,O Coração reeditada das Trevaspor Coppola (1902) para – escrito o lançamento pelo polonês do DVD Jo- da obra em 2001 – com 49 minutos inéditos. - seph Conrad, radicado na Inglaterra, conta a história do ma rinheiro Charles Marlow, que trabalhou durante certo tempo nas imediações do Congo Belga, na África, com o transporte de marfim para as metrópoles europeias. Ambientado nas últimas décadas do século XIX, no ápice do Imperialismo, o romance retrata o resgate à civilização, por parte de Marlow, CASA: Cadernos de Semiótica Aplicada, v.12, n.1, 2014, p. 233-257 | 235 Lucas Calil Guimarães SILVA, Renata Ciampone MANCINI do notório comerciante Kurtz, um talentoso homem de larga- reputação que, sem razão aparente, interrompeu o fluxo de marfim de seus entrepostos no coração do continente e ins taurou uma sociedade “particular” na selva. Logo depois de- aportar na África, o protagonista, líder da sociedade, passa a viajar em barcos modestos por diversas localidades domina das pelos colonizadores, que subjugam os nativos e compõem um regime social insano, violento e desprovido de grandeza ou lógica – Hearta ameaça of Darkness do ambiente selvagem desconhecido é lançadaconstante. pelo O títuloautor originalem 1902. do livro, publicado em três partes em 1899, é . Neste trabalho, utilizo a versão 2. Análise das cenas 2.1. Abertura do filme – cena 02 (00:02:50 até 00:07:34): apresentação de Benjamin Willard - O começo do filme ilustra a presença do sonho america no no Vietnã. Insone, o capitão Benjamin Willard aguarda, às- escuras, as ordens de seus superiores em Saigon, o centro de comando dos EUA. Espera em um bagunçado e escuro quar to de hotel, desconectado do universo caótico dos conflitos,- sustaalimentado o espectador: por cigarros The End e álcool. Pula,The corre, Doors rasga e executa movimentos aleatórios, embalado pela trilha sonora que as- , do grupo . Willard não escuta a canção apocalíptica, mas parece afetado pela morbi dez da melodia entreouvida. The End O diretor Francis Ford Coppola controla as ações de Benjamin pelo compasso rítmico da música. Quando é solene, o personagem parece refletir, sem mexer o corpo; quando a canção ganha contornos acelerados, o personagem | CASA: Cadernos de Semiótica Aplicada, v.12, n.1, 2014, p. 233-257 236 APOCALYPSE NOW E O CORAÇÃO DAS TREVAS: O EMBATE ENTRE INDIVÍDUO E SOCIEDADE também acelera os movimentos – enlouquece. Tudo parece- difuso para o capitão; tudo é incompreensível e tortuoso. Para o espectador, é duvidoso o passado que levou o soldado a re tornar ao Vietnã. É impossível saber, com certeza, quais as- circunstâncias que culminaram com o retorno militar. Willard sofre de depressão, lamenta acontecimentos de outros tem- pos, recorda momentos dolorosos e questiona, sem cessar, a legitimação do papel que desempenha nos combates – e o pa pel que realizará na missão que aguarda ansiosamente. - Nesta cena, surgem os principais temas que recobrirão inúmeras figuras do filme: solidão, loucura, desespero e in compreensão. O início da trajetória de Willard no retorno ao- Vietnã é marcado pelo estupor emocional dos momentos que antecedem a reunião com os coronéis. Em um quarto modes- to, na região central de Saigon, o americano descansa sozinho, isolado por persianas quase cerradas, por garrafas de desti lado quase vazias, por maços de cigarro amassados e gastos- – símbolos de um exílio momentâneo. A cama, os lençóis e os poucos móveis do cômodo estão quebrados e sujos. O desca so evidente denota o desleixo com coisas que, para Benjamin,- serão passageiras e pouco importantes naquele contexto. O calor sufocante da região evoca uma condição febril e aluci- nada, e o suor que desce das têmporas do capitão, combinado aos movimentos aleatórios decorrentes da embriaguez, com põem o quadro visual da histeria. - Coppola utiliza, na transição entre a primeira e a segunda cenas do filme, uma interseção de planos: fechafade-in e abre, e o fade-out de for ma simultânea, quadros pertencentes a momentos diferentes (em termos fílmicos, uma conjunção entre o na troca de cortes). Para a Semiótica francesa, a análise desse- efeito cinematográfico está relacionada ao estudo do plano da expressão em conjunção com o plano do conteúdo: um sincre CASA: Cadernos de Semiótica Aplicada, v.12, n.1, 2014, p. 233-257 | 237 Lucas Calil Guimarães SILVA, Renata Ciampone MANCINI abertura de Apocalypse Now - tismo de elementos figurativos e sonoros de ambas as cenas. A exibe, imponente,The um End ataque começa aé reo americano sobre uma floresta que, em poucos segundos, explode em chamas e fumaça laranja. A música a tocar, com volume crescente, neste princípio de história – e prossegue dentro do quarto de Benjamin (a cena 02). O elemento que intersecta a troca entre o bombardeio e o corte seguinte é a hélice do helicóptero, que posteriormente é convertida em ventilador de teto. Para emular o barulho do veículo aéreo dentro do recinto fechado em Saigon, o diretor preserva o efeito sonoro e altera apenas as figuras, recriando- a imagem militar da primeira cena com onirismo e agitação: a conexão entre as isotopias de conteúdo (ventilador, helicóp tero, guerra) e expressão (barulho do helicóptero) reverbera a força bélica do conflito no imaginário do capitão. 2.2. Cena 04: encontro com o coronel Kilgore (00:26:20 até 00:52:00) - Depois de convocado pelos superiores e apresentado à missão que deveria cumprir, Willard conhece os companhei ros de barco e aporta nas margens de um riacho dominado- pelo exército estadunidense. Esta é a primeira parada da equipe de Benjamin, cujo encarregado momentâneo é o ex- cêntrico coronel Bill Kilgore, homem de desejos inusitados e- sucessos militares. Carrega consigo características historica mente associadas ao estereótipo do “americano ideal” – efici ência, pragmatismo, patriotismo e individualismo – e devota- incrível paixão por um esporte totalmente desassociado da figura da guerra: o surfe.
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