Review of Restrepo (2010) by John M — 23 Jan 2011

Restrepo was an excellent documentary that showcased the trials and tribulations of a platoon injected into an unstable and unforgiving wilderness.

The testimonies from each soldier highlighted what it is to be fighting an invisible enemy. The film makes it seem like most of the fighting is done long distance with the aid of some air power, however, the daily attacks on Restrepo and The Kop show that your enemy can still be just as dangerous a mile away as opposed to right up next to you.

It was unbelievable that Tim Heatherington and Sebastian Junger were able to film the soldiers for as along as they did without getting hurt. The constant barrage of fire from the Taliban would almost certainly cause other documentarians to rethink the decisions that brought them to this outpost.

The morale of the soldiers and they're will to keep fighting was expertly defined in the film from the one on one interviews where they were able to explain why they were in the Korengal Valley, and from the joyous moments that were captured on film atop the mountains.

The handheld style, and up close and personal approach the filmmakers utilized made you feel as if you were there alongside them. Hearing bullets whiz past the camera, and seeing the soldiers retaliate added an authenticity unknown to other documentaries about war.

I've seen a lot of war documentaries that made you feel bad about what was happening to the indigenous people, and made you angry about the military presence in their land, however, throughout Restrepo all I could think was these soldiers are gonna get fucked and they need to get the hell out of there.