IT IS the tail end of the 80s and the Berlin Wall is about to fall.

The 317th Supply Battalion is stationed at an army base outside Stuttgart, witnessing the dawning of a new era with only a passing interest.

Behind the back of his commanding officer Colonel Wallace Berman (Ed Harris), enterprising young recruit Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) begins selling off the platoon's unused weaponry and peddling heroin for his own financial gain.

When Vietnam veteran, Sergeant Robert E Lee (Scott Glenn), discovers Elwood's shady scheme, he plots to expose these illegal activities, waging a campaign of abuse and terror against the base's criminal fraternity.

In retaliation, Elwood kindles a romance with Lee's rebellious teenage daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin), whose chief concern is to hurt her father regardless of the cost to others.

As Lee's hatred of Elwood finally boils over, he resorts to extreme measures to bring his prey to justice, even if it means Elwood ends up in a body bag.

Buffalo Soldiers is a refreshingly anarchic snapshot of army life, shot through with humour as black as the camouflage paint on the soldiers' faces.

Patriotism runs dry in the film's veins. Writer-director Gregor Jordan mercilessly lampoons the activities of the young men in the 317th Battalion, who would rather get high or get rich quick than fight a war.

He uses comedy to cut through the violence and escalating tension, underscoring the action with a rocking soundtrack of 80s anthems.

The army uniform may give the men a certain level of respect in the local community, but their idiotic actions (like destroying a German petrol station with a runaway tank) soon show them for what they truly are. Bored out of their minds and desperate for excitement to pass the time.

Phoenix parades through the film with a sly glint in his eye, and he spars effectively with Glenn who becomes almost a parody of himself by the drug-fuelled, and somewhat overblown finale. Paquin exudes a nascent sexuality and Harris is suitably doddering as the base chief blinkered to the criminals within his own ranks.

Rating: 6/10