I wanted to say that I enjoy military documentaries, but enjoy is not the right word. I watch lot of them, and I like to consider myself fairly knowledgeable about WWI and WWII. I'm not an expert, but I've done research and whatnot. I think politically and socially, war is an interesting thing. Terrible, but fascinating. So, I brought home Restrepo and I settled in for the hour and a half that was the movie.
Restrepo is the outpost in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, named for a platoon medic who was killed in action. The documentary is ninety minutes of either footage of what was happening to the soldiers in the valley, i.e. combat, patrols, etc., or interviews with the soldiers. That's it. There are no politicians, no Generals, no score, no analysis from "experts". Just the soldiers, the valley, and the valley's inhabitants.
It wasn't necessarily this big tragic drama that is supposed to leave you in a mess of ugly crying, but still hopeful at the end. It was ninety minutes out of a year, and while there was sadness and loss, there were also strange, comical moments. The scenes that were most emotionally taxing for me were the scenes where there was a lull. When nothing happened. Those were, I think, the most tense for me as a viewer, and also for the men stationed in the valley as well. I waited for gunshots, but none came. The tension builds and builds and builds, and the combat scenes are almost a relief, because something is taking place. There are two options, live or die. Shoot or don't shoot. That's it. In the lulls, there are too many options, most of which are scarier and more complicated than do or do not.
In one of my favorite WWII documentaries, Ken Burns: The War, there is a lot of reflection and personal stories, and the ones that always got me were the first hand stories told through letters or straight up interviews. The ones told through b-roll and narration were still affecting, but not as much as the first-hand accounts. And that's all that's in Restrepo. First hand accounts. The filmmakers were there. They spent a year with this platoon. Restrepo is one of the most effective war documentaries I have seen because it is so personal, and it doesn't have the commentary about why they did this or that in relation to politics. This is what they did and this is what happened as a result.
"one of the most troublesome things in life is that what you do or do not want has very little to do with what does or does not happen." - Lemony Snicket
-D.
Restrepo is the outpost in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, named for a platoon medic who was killed in action. The documentary is ninety minutes of either footage of what was happening to the soldiers in the valley, i.e. combat, patrols, etc., or interviews with the soldiers. That's it. There are no politicians, no Generals, no score, no analysis from "experts". Just the soldiers, the valley, and the valley's inhabitants.
It wasn't necessarily this big tragic drama that is supposed to leave you in a mess of ugly crying, but still hopeful at the end. It was ninety minutes out of a year, and while there was sadness and loss, there were also strange, comical moments. The scenes that were most emotionally taxing for me were the scenes where there was a lull. When nothing happened. Those were, I think, the most tense for me as a viewer, and also for the men stationed in the valley as well. I waited for gunshots, but none came. The tension builds and builds and builds, and the combat scenes are almost a relief, because something is taking place. There are two options, live or die. Shoot or don't shoot. That's it. In the lulls, there are too many options, most of which are scarier and more complicated than do or do not.
In one of my favorite WWII documentaries, Ken Burns: The War, there is a lot of reflection and personal stories, and the ones that always got me were the first hand stories told through letters or straight up interviews. The ones told through b-roll and narration were still affecting, but not as much as the first-hand accounts. And that's all that's in Restrepo. First hand accounts. The filmmakers were there. They spent a year with this platoon. Restrepo is one of the most effective war documentaries I have seen because it is so personal, and it doesn't have the commentary about why they did this or that in relation to politics. This is what they did and this is what happened as a result.
"one of the most troublesome things in life is that what you do or do not want has very little to do with what does or does not happen." - Lemony Snicket
-D.
D,
ReplyDeleteI never did what these men did, but i can tell you that i never want anyone to ever have to go through the pain and sadness of war, having a friend killed, having to cover a scar on your heart and mind from the tragedy of "protecting the land of the free's.. freedom" and knowing and seeing the impact of war on these young men will be forever our nations burden... I am glad you watched this to at least see a glimpse of the heart ache, turmoil and frustration war has on the human soul.