MovieChat Forums > Windtalkers (2002) Discussion > windtalkers misses the point of codetalk...

windtalkers misses the point of codetalkers

posted 11 years ago by torgulsmith
1 reply | jump to latest

I agree with terrible film...nice to look at but silly...
But i'm surprised to see no comments on the most ridiculous thing about the film...the function of the code talkers.
the function of the code talkers was to transmit information that should be secret from the japanese...like, "we are proceeding down the coast road, will swing west" or " patrol the treeline, then move inland to hill 242" etc
However, in the film, the major scene which portrays the use of the code talkers involves calling in a strike on a japanese entrenchment...well, the japanese know where they themselves are, they know the US forces know where they are, ( because, by the way, they were discovered by ground troops advancing basically till they were shot at, though the entrenchment was clearly visible from the air), so what use is keeping the coordinates secret from the japanese...
not to mention that the war seems to knock off at night ( we just go back to camp and hang out) and that we find the enemy by jamming into a truck and driving down a road in enemy controlled area

[–] chas437 9 years ago

Exactly. I met and spoke with two Code Talkers about the time this film came out. They told me that code takers were not deployed in forward positions to call in artillery strikes. That idea makes no sense, as you say, the Japanese already know where they are...lol.

They were at front line positions and did suffer casualties, but they generally weren't deployed in combat situations. They were used to relay tactical decisions, i.e. troop movements, reconnaissance reports, i.e.

I'll take Punctuality