Review of Restrepo (2010) by Ben M — 15 Dec 2010

Long before I watched Restrepo, the only kind of warfare I had actually seen were small blips on the news and through playing several games in the Call of Duty franchise. Then I saw the acclaimed 2009 film The Hurt Locker, and I was convinced that it was as close to the real thing as film would allow. But now I can throw all of those past experiences to the wind after watching Restrepo. Movies today romanticize war to no end, this film lacks narrative but makes up for it with the powerful and moving footage on screen. Sometimes frightening and pulse-pounding, sometimes heartbreaking and saddening, sometimes even a bit darkly humorous but always riveting and engaging Restrepo is a monumentally great documentary that should get on everybody's screen soon.

There is no story in this film, no driving tale of heroics or destiny for any of the men in Battle platoon there is simply, as stated on the disc, one platoon, one valley, and one year and that is basically all you need to know. The doc follows a platoon of men who are deployed into one of the most dangerous places in the war-torn nation of Afghanistan and basically just told to fight and survive in the hostile environment. Throughout the doc you learn the story of each of the men and watch as they all bond together as brothers at war, and come as close as possible to experiencing what they did. What makes this film so much more powerful than other war movies is the thought of actual human lives at stake on screen and the actual loss of life on screen really touched me. It really made me appreciate the men who fight everyday like the men in this movie for their country.

The film is shot from a handheld perspective which although makes this one of the less technically impressive documentaries, it makes the experience much more up close and personal. The shaky and up close camera work is the only way you can see the look of adrenaline in a soldier's eyes as he fires his weapon, or the impoverished and hardened looks on the Afghan civilians. The cameraman does make good work of the wide and steep mountainous terrain of the country as he is able to capture every inch of the sprawling wilderness along with every exciting second of the firefights and explosions. The sound is not the best in the world but it is able to still capture the many sounds of war so that they sound as realistic as possible.

There is no way a person can watch this and not be effected by the footage shot. It certainly helped me garner even more respect for the serviceman in my country and it may also make unaware folks aware of what they are doing overseas every day. If you can't watch another over-dramatized depiction of conflict or play another overly cinematic explosion riddled video game, then watch Restrepo for the uncut and untamed visceral truth of war and the men who fight it.