Review of Restrepo (2010) by James D — 01 Dec 2010

(Recommended) You are in the war zone. Korengal Valley. Afghanistan. One year with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Not a pretty place. Constant shelling. Firefights and heavy artilliary echo and light up the night skies. The soldiers here are deployed to detain the enemy, create a new outpost, and secure the main road. Restrepo becomes that new outpost, as if hell needed another name.

This documentary intercuts real war scenes with interviews directly from the soldiers. Directors Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger do yeomanlike work in filming these dangerous area. They concentrate on the boring daily routines that fill the soldiers' time there while concentrating on the human faces of war, showing the lasting effects on each man in their swaggers, their jargon, their hesitation in recalling the grim realities of war as they remember their fallen comrades.

The combat scenes are brutal and in-your-face. Quite an eye-opener. In these moments, the film had an arresting, almost poetic quality. But the directors also needed some judicious editing as much of the film has filller that does little to advance the story. Often times, the film feels disjointed, lacking continuity. Scenes seem to be missing. Incidents are discussed but rarely presented such as the death of a farmer's cow which later plays into the story. ( Side note: The farmer want restitution of $400, the Army wanted to pay in beans and rice. Not a good way to establish kinship. ).

It is in the second half of the documentary that the film gains much power and impact as the soldiers try to push back the Taliban with Operation Rock Avalanche, an unsafe four day expedition to infiltrate and secure the valley. Lives are lost and the moviegoer feels that loss having known some of these brave men through the interviews. One particular scene involving an unfortunate death is truly heart-wrenching as his friend cries out and mourns his dead pal.

Retrepo is raw and stark filmmaking of the most heroic measure. It may not be a well executed or refined film, but it certainly has images that will haunt and shake you. GRADE: B.

NOTE: Sadly, this film never made the rounds at the local cinemas. WHY???