MovieChat Forums > Tigerland (2001) Discussion > Question on the timing Colin shoots blan...

Question on the timing Colin shoots blank at his mate, injuring his eye.

posted 19 years ago by eq-6
8 replies | jump to latest

I got 2 questions. Towards the ending of this movie, I know that Bozz (Colin) injures Paxton during the training, so that the latter will not be sent to war.

1) But why did Bozz choose this time to injure Paxton, when Wilson was pointing his M16 at Bozz, threatens to shoot him?

2) And shouldn't Bozz be detained under court-martial for misfire (regardless intentional or not) and causing injury to his mate? He was sent to Vietnam instead. Why?

Thank you.

[–] keats272 19 years ago

I think he fired his weapon to draw attention to the situation...the gunblast and then Paxton's cries made the Sgt. come and see what was happening and thus, he saw Wilson.

Yes, you are right about him being court-martialed, but maybe they were so desperate for soldiers at that point, they dismissed it. that or they realized what went on. I don't know.

[–] farm_seller 19 years ago

Bozz doesn't fire at Paxton to get the sergeant's attention. I just watched it last night. Sergeant Cota fires his pistol and tells them to cease fire well before Bozz shoots Paxton. In other words, Cota already knows that something is wrong and he probably knows that Wilson has fired live rounds.

I think Bozz recognizes that he has a small window of opportunity. He shoots Paxton just after Wilson stops firing and before Cota gets to the scene. This way Bozz can blame the so-called accident on the stress and excitement of being shot at.

[–] chasman99 16 years ago

I agree with this explanation. Bozz never did anything without a good idea of how it would play out.

*** I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "I drank what?" ***

[–] TheSilverScreenJunkie 15 years ago

farm seller is 100% correct. /thread

Whats happening to our hood!! - Jack Black, Be kind Rewind (2008)

[–] Multiple_Celebrity_Syndrome 19 years ago

1) The other poster is right I think it draws attention of those in charge to a situation. He wants his buddy out of the army as well so he doesn't get sent to Vietnam.

2) Don't you think they had enough with Wilson? Why prosecute someone for what seems and is admitted to by Bozz as to being an accident when you have someone thirty feet away who was about to kill someone with live ammo? It was never substantiated that Bozz was actually sent to Vietnam, if he found it easy enough to bribe someone to take him to Mexico at an earlier point in the film what makes you think that he didn't do it another time or thought of his own legal escape route out as he did for the others he'd helped?

"I work harder than God. If He had employed me the World would have been made by Thursday"

[–] malismad 19 years ago

I thought they sent him to vietnam in the end. In my opinion the whole point of the story was that Bozz was a born leader, (charismatic, detatched etc) and he accepted this in the end. Thats why he rips the book up...coz he knows it is probably his destiny to die in the war. Just my opinion.

I...am an enchanter. There are some who call me...Tim.

[–] toldyousew 14 years ago

By the way, NEVER point a weapon with blanks at a comrade, and especially
don't fire it at hime/her.

~I can sing better than Taylor Hicks!

[–] njscreenwriter 14 years ago

After they arrived at Tigerland it became clear to us and Bozz that Paxton wouldn't last 2 days in the jungles of Vietnam. Bozz recognized an opportunity to get his friend out of going to the war so he took it.

I'm not familiar with the rules of the Army and protocol, but I imagine back in '71 they were willing to overlook some things in order to get as many men over there as they could - they were willing to let Wilson go and he already went homicidal once before...why not Bozz?