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Rebel

1985, Movie, R, 91 mins

Rebel: Review

A lavish, big-budget musical wartime drama set in Australia, REBEL is an example of the kind of film they--fortunately--just don't make anymore. Kathy McLeod (Debbie Byrne) is an entertainer in a small Quonset hut saloon that stages production numbers for the benefit of Allied troops returning from battle with the Japanese. One night she hosts a small party at her flat, where the guests include a young Marine sergeant (Matt Dillon) just back from Guadalcanal. He immediately sets his sights on Kathy (whose husband is off fighting). After her husband is killed, the marine reveals himself to be a deserter sick of the senselessness of war. A shallow exercise, REBEL fails chiefly because of Dillon's ridiculous character. The film does have an undeniable visual flair, but, from the overly lavish production numbers to the marine's stylish battle flashbacks, it hardly seems appropriate to the material. leave a comment