Some argue that science-fiction movies fell by the wayside after the conclusion of the Star Wars trilogy with Return of the Jedi in 1983. That was, however, not the case. In 1985, two of the top ten movies of the year were sci-fi: Back to the Future, one of the biggest films ever, and Cocoon. One such film that didn't fare so well that year was Enemy Mine.
Back in elementary school, my best friend threw epic sleepover birthday parties where he invited all the boys from our class to come over. He lived in the country, so we did cool things like go-cart riding, shooting guns (supervised, of course) and playing war games in the woods behind his house with water guns. We would also watch a movie late at night. One year the movie was Enemy Mine. It started with a pretty cool spaceship battle, then meandered into a tale of a human and an alien that crash-land on a planet and have to learn to get along. We all enjoyed the movie, talked about it for some time after seeing it, and imitated the alien's gurgle-ish voice for weeks. I have always had fond memories of those parties, including Enemy Mine. I thought it was time to revisit the film after 25 years or so.
Enemy Mine endured a troubled production, as it went through two directors and went way over budget. It was expected to be a big hit, but instead did quite poorly at the box office. It seemed to have done well on VHS and pay TV channels, however, as most adolescent boys in the 80's were familiar with the movie. The intent of the film is clear, as it sets out to be a big movie, but not just a sci-fi movie. It's character driven, and covers themes such as reconciliation, self-sacrifice, friendship, and loving your enemy. One of the most interesting scenes in the film has the main protagonist, Davidge (Dennis Quaid), reading from his new found alien friend's (Louis Gossett, Jr) book of sacred writings. He reads a passage about loving your enemies and forgiving them, then replies that he has read it before, in his world's sacred book. The alien responds with something along the lines of "truth is truth", and that it is universal. It's an obvious reference to Matthew 5:44 - "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you". Great lesson found from an unlikely source.
Enemy Mine was ambitious. The sets are impressive and still hold up quite well. Many of the special effects still look good (the space battle scene), others not so much (some of the alien creatures on the planet). The makeup job on Louis Gossett, Jr is pretty amazing, and his portrayal of the alien, as well as Dennis Quaid's acting, are excellent. The first act of the movie seems a bit rushed, as the two characters are dumped on the planet together, begin to form a friendship, and learn each others' language very quickly, even though a long passage of time is implied. It just would have made the bond between the two a bit more powerful if they had taken a little longer to get along. The movie pushes the boundaries of sci-fi weirdness when the alien is revealed to be pregnant (the aliens are genderless and asexual) and later has a baby. Once the climax of the film is reached it is basically a rescue story, and quite an exciting one at that.
For some reason, movie goers didn't latch on to this film. Maybe it was the familiar theme of two enemies stranded together, which wasn't exactly new. It could have been the alien baby weirdness. Maybe it was the awful movie poster. Since the 80's the movie has fallen into obscurity and is only appreciated by die-hard fans. It's worth a look and offers something unique in the genre. Enemy Mine is available on DVD, as well as an out-of-print limited edition Blu-Ray that fetches astronomical prices on auction sites.
