Movie #393 ........................"Restrepo"

Movie #393 "Restrepo" is a military documentary, so let me start by saying this would not be one I would automatically watch being in one of my least favorite genres. That being said, it IS nominated for an academy award this year for best documetnary (up against the previous movie (#392) that I just reviewed, so I made myself sit down and stream it last night. This movie would be tough to take sitting in a movie theatre because of the tension, the REAL shooting, etc. I must say the filmmaker does a great job of not showing us any real death scenes (thank god), but the danger (and yes death) is there --- it pervades every scene and it is difficult to watch. I felt so torn in the whole movie --- I have read the books (and highly recommend) Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones into Schools" so I know a bit about the terrain in Afghanistan (and I watch the news daily), but I didn't know just how deadly the Korangel Valley (in the Kunar Province) (soldiers call it "Death Valley") was -- the photographer embeds in the 2nd platoon which decides to do something about the on and off again shooting by the Taliban in this area. Their goal is to put a stop to it once and for all -- but they learn it's not that easy because part of the problem is that some Afghani people take money from the Taliban to shoot at our soldiers ---- they get in the way of the fighting --- and as a result, losses occur to our soldiers plus the Afghani people (some innocent, some not) that could be prevented. We see several times our soldiers addressing the folk in the valley on what to do and not to do -----There's so much here that you would never see in a glossy hollywood war picture that makes the film good and in some ways hard to watch. The down time is full of nonessential pieces of dialogue that isn't good movie watching, yet you mustn't take your eyes off the screen because something harmful might happen to them next. I felt all kinds of turmoil while watching, and questions kept popping up in my head: what SHOULD we be doing to prevent our soldiers and the Afghani people from getting hurt? What allows me to watch this in the confines of my cozy living room while these men are putting themselves in so much harm's way? This should be required watching for everyone ---- or should it? How do they get up every morning and face this whole thing? Why do they? One gunner guy was saying that while he was growing up he could never EVER have a gun and that his parents took away a water gun because they found out it was called a "gun" -- and now he's doing this! Made me think twice about that situation. Another soldier likened this type of warfare (in this valley) to Vietnam (because of the sneaking up attacks, and buying off the local folk) that you don't know who the enemy is all the time. I found the movie very hard to watch, but very enlightening. And it's like no other war movie you've ever seen. Tough, Tough, Tough. And how does the academy compare it to the other films? That will be interesting come Oscar Night. You almost need to honor our soldiers' work in Afghanistan by honoring a filmmaker who tries to instruct his audience as to what is happening. Just a footnote that the movie and the base are named after a fallen soldier and he's the one you get to know through the other soldiers in the film. Restrepo. Remember the name. May he and the other 49 soldiers who have lost their lives there live in peace.



I rate it 3.6
Restrepo
(2010) R
Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, teamed with photographer Tim Hetherington and spent a year embedded with the Second Platoon in Afghanistan, chronicling the hard work, fear and brotherhood that come with repelling a deadly enemy. Hunkered down with the soldiers in one of the region's most strategic valleys, the filmmakers uncover the dark humor, sleepless surreality and constant anxiety of war in this Oscar-nominated documentary.
Genre: Military Documentaries
This movie is: Violent, Emotional, Dark, Gritty, Suspenseful
Format: DVD, Blu-ray and streaming (HD available)