After hearing pundits and politicians on both sides of the Iraq war, this documentary is a refreshing slice-of-life look from the soldiers point-of-view.
Husband and wife team of Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein stayed with the troupes of 2/3 Field Artillery, a group known as the "Gunners,” who were staying in the bombed out palace of Sadaam Hussein’s son, Uday. The film takes a casual approach to the soldiers’ mission, which can change from policing to raiding to humanitarian duties at any time. The filmmakers spent time with the soldiers in 2003 and 2004 and during that time eight of the unit were killed.
The soldiers seem calm and honest with the camera. Their philosophies on the war, for the most part, boil down to finishing their duty, protecting their friends and then going home. They take pride in what they are doing, but don’t really look at themselves as serving a great purpose like some supporters of the war want to make the conflict out to be. These young men and women — practically boys and girls — are in harm’s way where politics fade way.
Many turn to song and journals to express themselves. The African-American soldiers provide the poetic soundtrack for the film in the form of their freestyle raps. Some soldiers talk candidly about Humvees with scrape metal armor, which can be more dangerous than having no armor at all. Another talks to an Iraqi about his duty to train Iraqi forces and that they will never succeed if the Iraqi soldiers are just there for a paycheck and don’t really care.
An overriding sentiment from the soldiers is that they fear they will be forgotten. Combat ended in Afghanistan and Americans forgot that soldiers we’re still there — at least until the next dead soldier is reported. In some ways, American citizens thinking about what they are going through is their only true validation, but unless you’ve been there and seen it you’ll never truly know what it is like.
As a look at the war that we never see on American TV, the film succeeds, but I was disappointed that the film was too loosely constructed and felt like a home movie at times. In the end, I recommend that everyone see this film. You might even want to skip the rental and just buy it, because part of the proceeds is going to veteran services. The film is a great reminder that we can never forget our men and women in arms when they are in combat and when they return home.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
