Documentaries have always had the stigma of being boring and dull. It’s the nerd of the world of cinema so to speak, and when you’re going up against the extravagant plotlines and big budget effects of fiction film its fairly easy to see why. You have movies like Transformers where giant robots fight amongst clever cityscapes, or District Nine where aliens are fight for their way home. Even movies based on real life events are changed to amp up dramatic appeal. However the Oscar nominated documentary, Restrepo, is giving fiction film a run for its money. It has all of the drama and action of any one of these high budget films yet somehow maintains the incredibly raw realities of war.
The film documents the year that filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington spent with a platoon of the 503rd Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army. In what was at the time considered by many to be the most dangerous area on earth, the Korengal Valley of northeast Afghanistan. It was the job of these soldiers to clear the area of insurgency while maintaining the trust and cooperation of the local population. Their posting, OP Restrepo (named after a fallen friend), is known to take fire from Taliban forces just about every single day. In conditions where getting shot at and taking lives is the norm mental states begin to fray, which becomes very apparent in the film.
This documentary clearly illustrates all of the emotion and frustration that go along with living in a very high-risk area for a long period of time. It’s truly fascinating to watch these men carry on in conditions that most people wouldn’t be able to survive in, and in many cases a lot of people haven’t. In the movie one of the soldiers talks about the insomnia he’s suffering through, “I’ve been on about four or five different sleeping pills and none of them help, that’s how bad the nightmares are”. This is the most real depiction of war we’ve had since the coverage of Vietnam back in the 60s and 70s.
Even if Restrepo were a written film made with big budget effects and an entire team of writers it would still be just as good. The fact that your looking into the lives of actual people who are living and dying for their country takes the film to that next level of quality that not many films can stand up to.
I like the approach that documentary can be as thrilling as a big budget movie. Comparing it to Vietnam was great too. Just be sure to be careful about typos.
ReplyDeleteGood review, you made me really want to see this. The quote from the soldier suffering form insomnia is perfect for showing what the viewer should expect.
ReplyDeleteA few grammatical errors, but nothing too huge. A satisfying amount of detail, without over-indulging. Convincing in its goal to make me consider it just as much of a 'real movie' as any other fiction piece. Good job, really.
ReplyDeleteOverall, a good review, and it seems difficult that anyone could write a review that's too critical of this film. Many of our soldiers have rigorous, tasking, dangerous jobs. These jobs can be really exciting and can be documented amazingly through film. We can't help but send some love and respect their way, not to mention some praise for good documentary work regarding them. Totally convincing.
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