Restrepo is a fascinating documentary that follows the lives of the members of a platoon
stationed in Afghanistan in the deadly Korengal Valley at Outpost Restrepo -- named for the
platoon's fallen medic. Unlike a lot of documentaries, this film simply watches the soldiers and
listens as they tell their personal stories. There are no interviewers. There are no introspectives
from the film makers. There is no opportunity for the commanders, politicians or the natives to give
their spin on the events. You are just watching the men of second platoon;in the dirt and sand,
through all of the boredom of soldiers posted on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere
as well as the confusion of combat as they make their security patrols through the valley itself.
By all rights, this should have been an extremely boring film, kind of like watching
a stranger's home movies. But the fact of the matter is that this film was so visceral, so gritty and
unflinching, that you can't tear your eyes away. You get a very real sense of the danger that surrounds
this handful of soldiers, and it seems amazing to see a mere 15 lightly armed men, stationed in a glorified foxhole,
standing against a force of unknown size that comes and goes whenever it will. It is both moving to see
the bravery of these young men as they stand along the wall without question, and also horrifying
that we would ask them stand on that wall in the first place. This is the reality of warfare in
Afghanistan. It is the reality of life as a grunt in a modern guerrilla war.
Movie to Skip: The Charge of the Light Brigade
Although billed as a "satirical" look at the events
surrounding the vaunted British cavalry charge in the
Crimean War, forever immortalized in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem by the
same name, I'm not entirely sure I see where the 'satire'
element is hiding. To be honest, this comes across as a fairly
historically accurate account (as far as we know). For those of you who don't know
(like, practically everyone), Wikipedia tells us that
the infamous charge occurred on October 25, 1854 during the Battle of
Balaclava. Lord Cardigan led elements of the 4th and 13th
Dragoons, 17th Lancers, and the 8th and 11th Hussars across an open
valley nearly a half mile long right into the face of Russian
artillery. That's a bad thing. You see, if you're trotting over open
ground in full view of artillery, they can blast the crap
out of you before you ever get to their lines... and that's essentially
what happened in the real life charge. Of the 670 or
so horsemen that charged the enemy lines, 122 men were wounded, and 156
were either killed or taken prisoner when the charge
finally reached enemy lines -- in all, nearly half of the entire force
that led the charge. It was an absolute slaughter, and
a testament to both heroic courage under fire as well as the danger of
incompetence of command.
The impetus behind the making of this classic was the Vietnam War -- countless soldiers coming back in body bags
in a place they should never have been all because of the incompetence of the people sending them there. Incompetence of
command is most certainly highlighted in this film. The era of
warfare depicted in this film is one where your station in
society determined your rank and command authority rather than your
actual military prowess. This meant that all of the societal
grudges and conflicts were just as prevelant among the battlefield
commanders as they were at the various social functions at
home. The result was pompous chaos at the helm of the military machine
as men with no business wielding an army gave the orders.
Yeah... I can see the parallel to Vietnam.
While the actual buildup to the battle is interesting,
the battle is suitably epic, and the fallout and finger
pointing following the battle was all interesting to watch... that only
comprised about a half hour of the actual film. The
other hour and a half was a boring, and probably unnecessary, build up
as we are instructed (pedantically) about the relationships
and societal connections between the historical figures present at the
battle. WOW was that dry, and frankly, I'm not sure I
really cared. This film would not have been filmed the same way today, as I'm sure a competent director would have
given us the same information CONSIDERABLY quicker, and in a carefully orchestrated flashback fashion so that the actual charge
was the centerpiece of the film and not merely your reward for staying awake for the first part of the film. Sure, it's
interesting for the historical exploration of the charge, but most of the movie is just not a lot of fun to sit through... If you're a history buff, it might be worth it. If you're looking for entertainment, however, I'd try something else.
