Retrepo (2010) is a documentary film by Sebastian Junger and Tim Heatherington (a photojournalist who was recently killed in Libya covering the rebellion against Qaddafi) about Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army in the Koregal Valley of Afghanistan. It was nominated for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards and lost to Inside Job. This is a mountainous where the Taliban moves freely between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore it is one of the most dangerous postings in Afghanistan, these unit take fire pretty much daily. This film employs the cinema verite method of film-making in which there isn’t any commentary or voice over narration. However, it can’t be said to be completely objective, because the filmmakers chose what scenes to include as well as having scenes of interviews taken in Italy after the campaign. The end result is that no real progress sis made in the region and eventually the outpost named after one of the first causalities is given up and abandoned. The weekly meetings between the tribal elders and the highest ranking officer are telling in the way he talks to the people and disregards their concerns about disappeared family members and compensation for innocent people and animals being killed inadvertently by the invading forces. So much for capturing “hearts and minds.” The area is highly cinematic and is a fascinating insight into the daily lives of ordinary soldiers. However, the viewer comes away from the film wondering if anything was accomplished in the area where 50 Americans lost their lives with little evidence of having made any impact on the lives of the people living there.
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest film, Biutiful (2010), is somewhat of a departure from his usual films in that it has one linear storyline rather than three intersecting stories. However, some common themes can be seen in the film, which is tragedy and depicts the lives of the unfortunate and lower class of immigrants (Africans and Chinese) and the local people who survive on the underground economy in Barcelona Spain. I suppose there is supposed to be some sort of spiritual uplift to the whole things a despite Javier Bardem’s fine performance it is a morbid affair. Bardem was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award and lost ot Colin Firth for The King's Speech, the film was up for Best Foreign Film and lost to In A Better World.
I followed the mournful Biutiful with Cedar Rapids (2011) a competent feel-good comedy starring Ed Helms, John C. Riley, Isaiah Whitlock (of The Wire fame), the always wonderful Stephen Root, and Anne Heche. It might not have had as many laugh out loud moments like some more recent comedies like The Other Guys or Hot Tub Time Machine, but it had a heart which worked well within the confines of the story.
It was good to see that another foreign film that had been getting a lot of good press, Of Gods And Men (2010) was also available on the plane. It is a French film based on a true story about a group of Christian monks serving in Algeria during the 1996 Civil War. One of the results was that the Muslims had become increasing conservative and violent in relation to the adherence to strict Islamic principals in which people are killed for minor infractions of code like women going with out their veil’s. The violence spills over when they slaughter a group of Croatian builders. The priests must come to terms with the situation and deiced whether to leave or continue serving the poor people of this increasingly violent third world Arab country. Eventually they meet their expected fate. A powerful and well made film.
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