Directed by Tom JeffreyHarry (Graham Young) is a young Australian pup who's signed up to become part of the SAS, part of his country's military participating in the Vietnam War. It's 1969, and his parents throw him a going away party. Peter, Paul and Mary's “Leaving On a Jet Plane” is spun on the record, and his has one last final shag with his Sheila. He's then off to war, and he hunkers down with his fellow Aussies. He deals with the constant rain, drunkenness – Australians were up to their tits in Foster's Lager at this point, even in the thick of battle and boredom of camp life. A much older soldier, Rogers (Bryan Brown) relates how he signed up after his career as a fine artist failed and his wife left him. He schools Harry on how unpopular the war has become, and how the people there will be people who welcome him home and tell him how proud they are of him …. which will last about a week after his return.
The Odd Angry Shot is a highly regarded Australian film that many hail as a classic. Dealing with Australia's contributions to the war effort, American audiences, accustomed to high-octane actioners such as Saving Private Ryan (1992) have found Shot to be on the dull side. It's been given kudos for this very fact, by others who say it accurately reflects the military experience. Any serviceman will tell you that life on the front lines isn't all high-strung heroics. There's a lot of boredom waiting around for the next shoe to fall, they say. Add to this an adherence to military bureaucracy, many young men who sign up to serve their country are frustrated by their government's rules and regulations at every turn.