Just to see a documentary on the battle for Iraq is refreshing. The nightly news coverage, with that 30 second loop of whatever-happens-to-be-going-on while some anchorman or reporter drones on endlessly about what some talking heads in the Pentagon, state department, opposition group or the White House, are to this movie what MTV is to a serious news magazine.
The drama is 1000 times more real than any reality TV and therefore it's entertaining. Soldiers being soldiers, without a script or other parameters are insightful, I suspect, for the average viewer, particularly the American viewer, who most likely doesn't have an inkling what the military, much less war, is like. The soldiers are candid, mostly young, intelligent, interesting and articulate, which should be no surprise as they are a cross section of America.
The crew do a good job of bringing out the points of view as things happen, whether it be a raid, a public protest, or a casualty which gives us a solid look and feel to what these artillerymen experience.
Still the documentary is rather flat. Although the crew counts down the days until the unit departs Iraq, there is no flow to the film. Things happen and soldiers and Iraqis provide commentary. There are no themes or dividers (which was probably intentional) so the film has no sense of time and is amorphous.
The drama rarely builds and when something does happen the most dramatic aspect seems to be the narrators voice (I tend to think he doesn't talk like this normally). There's a solemn moment when one of the unit's officers dies. While the way and time the narrator finds out is itself sad, we can't really empathize because the individual is hardly mentioned prior to his death. Maybe it was out of consideration of his family and friends, but although we learn the narrator and he were close, this information only comes to us after the fact. The poetry and rapping provide the majority of the music and, regardless of the talent of the soldiers who do it, it becomes a little stale and somewhat out of place. Granted, we've become accustomed to associating 60's music with Vietnam, but there has to be something a little more representative of Iraq's "sound".
If you are looking for more than what's offered on the news as to what occupation duty in Iraq is like, this will do the trick. If you are looking for a fascinating and well structured documentary, look elsewhere.
The drama is 1000 times more real than any reality TV and therefore it's entertaining. Soldiers being soldiers, without a script or other parameters are insightful, I suspect, for the average viewer, particularly the American viewer, who most likely doesn't have an inkling what the military, much less war, is like. The soldiers are candid, mostly young, intelligent, interesting and articulate, which should be no surprise as they are a cross section of America.
The crew do a good job of bringing out the points of view as things happen, whether it be a raid, a public protest, or a casualty which gives us a solid look and feel to what these artillerymen experience.
Still the documentary is rather flat. Although the crew counts down the days until the unit departs Iraq, there is no flow to the film. Things happen and soldiers and Iraqis provide commentary. There are no themes or dividers (which was probably intentional) so the film has no sense of time and is amorphous.
The drama rarely builds and when something does happen the most dramatic aspect seems to be the narrators voice (I tend to think he doesn't talk like this normally). There's a solemn moment when one of the unit's officers dies. While the way and time the narrator finds out is itself sad, we can't really empathize because the individual is hardly mentioned prior to his death. Maybe it was out of consideration of his family and friends, but although we learn the narrator and he were close, this information only comes to us after the fact. The poetry and rapping provide the majority of the music and, regardless of the talent of the soldiers who do it, it becomes a little stale and somewhat out of place. Granted, we've become accustomed to associating 60's music with Vietnam, but there has to be something a little more representative of Iraq's "sound".
If you are looking for more than what's offered on the news as to what occupation duty in Iraq is like, this will do the trick. If you are looking for a fascinating and well structured documentary, look elsewhere.