Sylvester Stallone hopes violence of 'Rambo' will get people thinking about Myanmar

TOKYO — Sylvester Stallone fans planning to sit back with a cola and some popcorn to enjoy an hour and a half of escapist fun with Stallone's new "Rambo” movie could be in for a nasty shock.

And that's exactly what Stallone wants.

In an interview at a Tokyo hotel, Stallone, 61, explained why "Rambo,” the fourth film in the series, is the most violent, horrific and cynical yet.

"I think Hollywood in the past few years has decided to step further away from reality, and make war cinematic … and not as brutal and horrible and insidious as it really is. Especially civil war, which is even worse than wars between nations,” Stallone said.

The sequel, which opened in Japan on Saturday, was released on DVD in the United States on Tuesday.

"I just wanted to take the actual footage — which I have — and depict it or re-enact it exactly the way it is. So, it's supposed to be disturbing. I want people to be upset and understand that unarmed people are living this every day. While you're having your meal or going to an amusement park, there are other people in the world that are being torn to shreds and no one knows about it,” he said.

Describing Myanmar's rulers as "Satan's disciples,” Stallone expressed particular anger about their refusal to accept international aid in the wake of the recent cyclone that killed at least 34,000 people — with many more missing — and left up to 2 million survivors in desperate straits.

The movie's emotionally jarring prologue is a montage of real footage of violence — including a fleeting glimpse of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai being gunned down as he tried to cover the suppression of a street demonstration in Yangon last year.

What effect does Stallone anticipate this image will have on viewers?

"You know, it's a two-edged sword,” he said. "I was hoping that they understand that this is not a Sylvester Stallone self-indulgent action film. That actual, real people that are contributing to hopefully the betterment (of the situation) and reporting the truth, pay with their life. So, I'm just trying to take that harsh brutality and segue into a film, and it's a very delicate line.

"But the most important thing was to establish that Burma exists. People don't know about it in our country (the United States). They think it's like: `Burma? Sounds kinda quaint, kinda cute.” And I wanted to show that, `No. Here's actual footage, these are people dying …” And you should have seen what I left out. It was even worse. Much worse. And I know that people couldn't take it.

"Here's the problem with doing a film,” he continued. "You want the truth. You want cinema to reflect and dissect reality, but a lot of us aren't equipped to accept it. We live in a society where we've been sheltered a little bit … That was a hard thing to push.”

The film appears to have a bleak message. An early scene shows Rambo (Stallone) repeatedly growling, "Go home,” to a well-meaning Christian missionary named Sarah (Julie Benz) who wants him to ferry her group of doctors and teachers up a river from Thailand into Myanmar. When they set out on the journey, gruesome violence inevitably ensues and Rambo sets out to rescue the missionaries.

"It's just an ongoing horrible situation that he (Rambo) warned her about. And this is just a fact of life, that unfortunately war is natural and peace is an accident, (a condition) that you have to work at, really work at,” he said.

"First Blood” (1982), the original Rambo movie, also had a note of hopelessness, as the main character was an American veteran of the Vietnam War who was misunderstood and abused on his return home.

Having completed his graphically violent but fictitious film, Stallone is now part of a group of celebrities trying to shine a light on real-life human rights abuses in Myanmar.

This month, a group called the U.S. Campaign for Burma is posting one brief video every day on YouTube and at www.burmaitcantwait.com, each featuring one or more celebrities trying to raise awareness of the dire situation people in the country face.

Many of the videos call for the release of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most of the past 20 years. Besides Stallone, celebrities featured so far include Jennifer Aniston, Jackson Browne, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, arrest for most of the past 20 years. Besides Stallone, celebrities featured so far include Jennifer Aniston, Jackson Browne, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Silverman and Stallone's "Rambo” costar Julie Benz.

"While you're having your meal or going to an amusement park, there are other people in the world that are being torn to shreds and no one knows about it.”


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