In Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, visions of the Vietnam War are splattered across the screen leaving the person watching in total bewilderment. But after watching it again, one picks up on more of the underlying symbols that line the movie. Cigarette smoking is used throughout the movie to express a sense of completion. More importantly, Smoking is a symbol used for comradery and understanding.
Apocolypse Now tells the tale of Captain Benjamin Willard. Capt. Willard receives orders to seek out a renegade military outpost led by a mysterious Colonel Kurtz and exterminate him with extreme prejudice. They want Kurtz exterminated because his methods are "unsound". Col. Kurtz has a sanctuary in Cambodia where he has an army of Montagnard tribesmen who both worship and despise him.The plot is complicated by Willard's own personal struggle on whether or not he should follow through with his orders. He begins to understand why Col. Kurtz has done what he has and fights an inner struggle not to follow the same path.
The first time the symbol of smoking is brought to light is when Willard recieves the order to exterminate Col. Kurtz. Upon entering, Col. Lucas offers Willard a cigarette. Willard refuses because he does not understand why he is there and because he doesn't feel he belongs there. But after learning why he is there and what it is that he is supposed to do, Willard reluctantly accepts a cigarette from Jerry. He doesn't want to accept it because he, at that moment, is still unsure about the mission. But seeing no other way out, he accepts the cigarette and with that, he accepts the mission. This is an example of smoking as symbol of understanding.
The second offering of a cigarette comes when Capt. Willard offers Phillip, or the Chief, one. "It might have been my mission but it was sure as shit was the Chief's boat." Willard offered a cigarette as a peace offering between him and Phillips.