R | 2h 45min | Action, Drama, History | 2000
The United States of America has often been involved in a number of back-to-back wars, such as World War I (1914–1918) and the Russian Civil War (1918–1920). Often members of the military who participated in one war and experienced its horror were resistant to become involved in the next. As the French and Indian War (1754–1763) was followed in relatively quick succession by the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), many who fought in the former weren’t exactly thrilled about becoming involved in the latter. The 2000 war drama “The Patriot” illustrates this resistance to continual warfare—at least initially.
The film’s first act unfolds in the year 1776 as eight of the 13 American colonies rise up in protest against the British Empire’s policy of taxation without representation. Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), a hero of the French and Indian War, has settled into a relatively tranquil life in South Carolina. He’s also a widower who is raising seven children and believes that it is his duty to care for them….