Touches You

So much average

Excellent but underrated film

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Friday Night AtThe Movies, Nov.10,1970 was my last official day in USAF boot camp in San Antonio, Tx. The barracks dayroom was packed and this aired for the first time. DAJA VUE all over again.

When this film began, I wondered if it was originally intended for theatrical release. While I know it was a made for television picture for "The ABC Movie of the Week", the opening titles sure looked like a non-television film...and most of these made for TV films are only about 75 minutes while this one clocks in at 90. Who knows...? The script for "Tribes" won a Prime Time Emmy Award and was written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Keenan Wynn's son. He also wrote scripts for some high profile projects like "The Longest Yard" and "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman". The film follows a group of young Marine draftees through boot camp with their tough Drill Instructor, Sgt. Drake (Darren McGavin). Of all the guys in the platoon, the one that seems to rub Drake wrong the most often is Pvt. Adrian (Jan-Michael Vincent), as Adrian is a hippie---with long hair and sandals. However, in many ways Adrian is a great recruit...but he doesn't quite fit in all the time (particularly when it comes to the rifle range). He uses meditation to excel at physical training and soon is teaching it to the rest of the recruits...much to the annoyance and confusion of Drake! This movie focuses on this relationship between Adrian and Drake...and you wonder throughout which one will win this battle of wills. Oddly, however, towards the end of the picture, Drake takes on a rather paternal attitude towards Adrian...and another Drill Instructor doesn't like this.Not surprisingly, McGavin is exceptional...and the script one that keeps your interest throughout. It's also a wonderful time capsule for the period...a look back into America circa 1970. The negative, and it didn't bother me, is the ending...which I am pretty sure left many viewers disappointed at its vagueness. Still, well worth seeing.By the way, I wonder where this film is supposed to take place. After all, you see Adrian walking along the beach...and you assume it's perhaps in San Diego (and this IS where it was filmed). But in a scene with the Chaplain, he and Drake talk about going to the Snake River to do some fishing on their day off (Sunday)...and the Snake River is rather far from the coast--mostly running in Wyoming and Idaho but also into Southwest Washington. This would be about a 19 hour drive!

I saw this when I was 14 in 1970 and it had a big impact on me. Everything about it was excellent. Special kudos to Vincent for insisting they shave his actual hair for realism. (I read about that in one of the teen magazines of the time, lol)Anyone interested in the late 60s early 70s "hippie" movement should watch this, and anyone who wonders about the military's methods of transforming ordinary citizens into military personnel. As other reviewers have noted, this film doesn't take sides, but presents a sympathetic view to both the DI and the drafted hippie, and protrays them both as willing and able to see other points of view. A good film for parents to watch with teens; it will lead to interesting discussions.

"Tribes" came out in 1970, months after the Kent State shootings at the height of the protest against the Vietnam war. It was released on TV in America but theatrically overseas as "The Soldier Who Declared Peace." The film features an interesting culture clash between two Marine drill instructors and a hippie draftee. One drill instructor, Drake (Darren McGavin), starts to see the merits of the hippie, Adrian (Jan-Michael Vincent), but the senior drill instructor refuses to budge an inch.Adrian opens up a whole new world for Drake, one that he never considered. What turns Drake's head is that Adrian isn't some stereotypical drugged-out hippie; he's the most intelligent and fit recruit in his platoon, but how can this be since he dropped out of school and is a hippie? Through a learning attitude and meditational practices Adrian has tapped into a power source that gives him the edge over the rest of the recruits. Drake SEES it and can't deny it, especially since Adrian's techniques start working with the other recruits as well.This shakens Drake because he had pegged all hippies as drug-addled vagabonds. But the evidence is undeniable and he can't help but develop respect for the hippie. It also rattles him because he comes to realize that Adrian, despite being only 19 years-old or so, is superior to him in some ways. In other words, the mentor could learn a thing or two from the mentee, which isn't the way it's supposed to be in boot camp. The good thing is that Drake is humble enough -- teachable enough -- to receive from Adrian whereas the senior drill instructor (Earl Holliman) is too arrogant and ape-ish to do anything but spurn him.The film is smart in that it doesn't paint Adrian as omnipotent or wholly wise, nor is Drake the opposite. They both have valuable perspectives, intelligence & skills and can learn from each other, if they're open. For instance, Adrian is extraordinary when it comes to mental discipline and the power to overcome the physical and mental challenges of boot camp, but he fails miserable on the rifle range because his indoctrination cripples him from merely shooting a rifle, let alone shooting a human being. Adrian obviously adheres to absolute pacifism, which refuses to ever turn to violence in response to opposition or evil. Clearly Adrian could learn a thing or two about the necessity of self-defense and opposing people who reject the grace of peace and are bent on destruction or evil. It's called limited pacifism, which is what Jesus Christ advocated -- a peaceable attitude that only resorts to violence when necessary. See my review of "Billy Jack" for more details, if interested.The film was shot at the Marine Corps depot in San Diego; I went to boot camp at the one in Parris Island, SC. I bring up my experience because of some parallels with the movie. For instance, a spiritual leader rose up in my platoon, much as Adrian does in "Tribes," although he was older than Adrain and he adhered to a different spiritual discipline, Christianity. As the weeks wore on he proved himself over and over -- his mental/spiritual stamina -- and he attracted a formidable following, who hanged around him during free time, much like the recruits do with Adrian. One similarity of these two is that they both led through humble, gentle wisdom rather than a domineering, bloviating spirit, like the drill instructors. In other words, they led without putting on the puke-inducing airs of conventional "leadership." They led simply by influencing people positively by their undeniable wisdom and the power they've obviously tapped into. This is true leadership.I mention this because there are other ways to tap into extraordinary power than Transcedental Meditation, like Adrian, even superior ways. The Christian recruit I mentioned did it too, although it wasn't as unrealistically overdone as it was in the film with Adrian. Of course I realize it's a film and the filmmakers had to exaggerate some things to keep it interesting for its 90-minute runtime. What was unrealistic? Well, for one, the idea that Adrian was able to win over the ENTIRE platoon and, secondly, that every recruit was able to enter into such a deep state of meditation that Drake had a hard time waking them out of their inner bliss one morning, including Quentin who's taking drugs and is clearly unstable -- unstable enough to attempt suicide.I bring the above up because "Tribes" shouldn't be pigeonholed as TM propaganda (although it may have that effect on some) anymore than the Christian's actions in my platoon could be construed as Christian propaganda. (By the way, I didn't hang around this guy, the things I mentioned above were just things I noticed and it somewhat influenced me years later. So I guess he did positively influence me, huh?). The film simply shows that there's more for you -- more power, knowledge, wisdom -- if you seek it, but this treasure exists outside conventional training and educational structures.What's interesting is that both the drill instructors in the film are probably Christian, at least nominally. And it shows how sterile and powerless Christianity has become in the West, at least in some ways. Believe it or not, the Bible actually supports meditation, as Psalm 119:15-16 shows, not to mention the incredible power available through spiritual rebirth and the baptism of the Spirit. These dynamic aspects of Christianity are generally written off, ignored or mocked by most denominations and blockheaded pastors, which is shameful. Is it any wonder that people -- even professing believers -- can be intrigued by TM and other such disciplines to the point that they think Christianity is somehow a lesser belief system? Actually, it's far more than a mere belief system or spiritual discipline; I'd elaborate but I don't want this review to turn into Christian propaganda, lol.