Review of Dirty Wars (2013) by Joshfriesen — 13 Jul 2014

A gripping conspiracy story with a back bone of evidence, Dirty Wars is one of the most important films to see of 2013. Its designed to provoke outrage, and I would image most will feel outraged when they see it.

The film focuses on Scahill, an American Journalist trying to reveal stories of secret divisions of the US Army and the damage they have caused. While the frustrations of entering the media circuit and dismissal at the top courts are interesting, the persist focus on Scahill instead of the victims can be at times distracting.

This is especially true during interviews where the camera continually drifts back to Scahill to capture his reactions. The film attempts to present itself as a spy story with Bond style graphics and cuts following its lead star.

All this been said, my criticisms are to do with how cinematic the film is, not the story itself. The story as well as the journalism behind it is truly excellent. Regardless of your political stance, see Dirty Wars, if only to glimpse the lives of people caught in the cross fire.

War is indeed a terrible thing.