Review of Iraq in Fragments (2006) by Matthew L — 04 May 2008

Impressive and courageous, particularly for its second segment that follows Shia radicals rounding up the alcohol sellers in their town market. But above all it is very beautiful. Then I watched the behind-the-scenes interview with the director.

I've shot on the same camera as his, and it's clear to me that the raw footage was highly manipulate during colour grading to achieve the remarkable visual style of the film. Still impressive, but that layer of after-the-fact aesthetic artifice reduces the impact for me.