THE FACE OF BATTLE

U.S. Marines in Afghanistan - February 13th, 2010

While no film or documentary can truly capture the experience of modern combat and military service, I highly recommend the following two documentaries: RESTREPO follows American servicemen in Afghanistan in 2008. ANDERSON'S PLATOON follows American servicemen in Vietnam in 1967.

I do not share them as pro or anti war efforts. Simply as a window into a very real world we civilians will never truly understand. What I found most interesting was the same looks of concern. Of fear. Of determination. Of laughter. Of tears or smiles reading letters from home. Identical though 40 years apart. These documentaries are perhaps a window into the experiences of young men at war not just from these two conflicts, but from any period in human history.

RESTREPO

http://restrepothemovie.com/video/

"The war in Afghanistan has become highly politicized, but soldiers rarely take part in that discussion. Our intention was to capture the experience of combat, boredom and fear through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. Their lives were our lives: we did not sit down with their families, we did not interview Afghans, we did not explore geopolitical debates. Soldiers are living and fighting and dying at remote outposts in Afghanistan in conditions that few Americans back home can imagine. Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one's political beliefs. Beliefs are a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality."  - Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger (directors)

(available on DVD and Blueray, Netflix "Instant Play" & Rental)


THE ANDERSON PLATOON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lpcuNX2JWQ

1968 Academy Awards® Best Documentary Feature 

1967  (54 minutes)

Filmmaker Pierre Schoendoerffer, a veteran of the French Indochina War, joined a platoon of American soldiers in 1966 for six weeks of search-and-destroy operations in Vietnam. This Oscar-winning documentary provides a rare outsider's behind-the-scenes view of the soldiers -- recording their lives, deaths, hopes and fears -- and observes how American culture influences their attitudes and behaviors in the midst of jungle warfare.

(available on Netflix "Instant Play", and sections on YouTube)

MJW