Saturday, July 02, 2005
Must See DVD
My wife and I rented 2 films today, first Mike Tucker's well known and discussed Gunner Palace which offered an honest view of the occupation from some American Soldiers' perspectives. The second, the not so well known and not so well discussed The Dreams of Sparrows offered the mirror occupation perspective of an Iraqi filmmaker. We found it moving, frightening, enlightening, and most of all eerily reminiscent of the ideological battle over the war in our own country.
Gunner Palace presented viewpoints as diverse as one could expect from 19-22 yr old American kids who have never really traveled before, thrust into and trapped in a horrible, nightmarish situation. There was very little Bush cheerleading, and you certainly don't hear much repetition of the government propaganda, until asked to talk about their "mission".
Mostly soldiers talked about the company of their brothers in arms, and spoke about their mission in regards to the Iraqis in a distanced, rehearsed fashion.
There were a number of scenes of rapping in which the soldiers warned or bragged about their weapons, skills in handling them, and consequences of fucking with them. There were also some genuinely sweet moments of interaction between soldiers and Iraqi children, but mostly the movie was focused on "our boys", their pride in themselves, and their understanding of the "mission" of mainly being a police force now, for which they have obvious distaste.
I think we were most struck by the ignorance and ill-preparedness of Americans over both the Iraqi culture, and the occupation part of the war itself. Many of the soldiers seemed to have no clue why they were still there. Scene after scene shows Americans screaming simple English commands at Iraqis who obviously don't understand, (couldn't the military have at least taught our soldiers how to say "get down" "move" "get out of the way" in Arabic?)
To me, it was not the most flattering portrait of American troops, but it was in line with some other things I have seen and read about our soldier's attitudes in Iraq, notably Evan Wright's excellent novel Generation Kill.
It also seemed to illustrate a hap-hazardness to the military war planning, especially the post invasion, occupation portion of it. Raised on video games and simple explanations of "democracy" and "freedom", most of the kids are confused by the Iraqi response to our attempt to "help" them, and their bonds with the few Iraqis in the movie appear to be as objects of derision, or as informants/helpers. Thrust into a horrible reality that no teenager should have to face, they respond mostly by shutting down, or burying their feelings about the war in creative pursuits like music and rapping, or in fraternal pranks, adolescent ribbing, and toilet humor.
The Dreams of Sparrows offered a much darker vision, because unlike the American soldiers, who eventually, if they make it through, will go home to comfortable American homes and conveniences, the Iraqi civilian's life and livelihood has been utterly destroyed by the war and the continued aftermath.
The footage obtained is unlike any we have seen in America because it is obtained from the inside, by an Iraqi.. from the chilling busload of insurgents on the way to Fallujah who swear to protect it and kill the infidels, to the matter of fact pro Bush, pro-liberation pronouncements of artists whose work was suppressed during Saddam's regime. It does not shy away from either pro or anti-American sentiments and while anecdotal, probably provides the best view of the current Iraqi mindset that I as an American have been allowed to see.
Director Haydar Daffar presents his subject matter in a point-counter point style as we see the opinions of Iraqis who love George Bush for being their liberator, alternated with the views of other Iraqi's who preferred life under Saddam. There are many sides to the story, but the unifying factor among the Iraqis interviewed was that things were not improving. The movie presented a stark picture of declining American support due to circumstances such as the death of friends, the continued lack of power and services, continued bombings and violence, and no end in sight to their troubles.
Many Iraqis who reacted positively initially to the toppling of Saddam are now turning intensely against the occupation. We've all read this in many articles, but to see it presented on the screen in the words of Iraqis living it gives it a whole new force. The filmmaker's friend and fellow producer is killed during filming, and the story of his "accidental" shooting (involving over 120 bullet holes in his car) by American soldiers is heartbreakingly related by another friend, who at the beginning of the movie had proudly displayed a picture of W in his wallet.
The two films together present a stunning if unpleasant double feature, one I would highly recommend in-between the weekend flag waving and fireworks.
Gunner Palace presented viewpoints as diverse as one could expect from 19-22 yr old American kids who have never really traveled before, thrust into and trapped in a horrible, nightmarish situation. There was very little Bush cheerleading, and you certainly don't hear much repetition of the government propaganda, until asked to talk about their "mission".
Mostly soldiers talked about the company of their brothers in arms, and spoke about their mission in regards to the Iraqis in a distanced, rehearsed fashion.
There were a number of scenes of rapping in which the soldiers warned or bragged about their weapons, skills in handling them, and consequences of fucking with them. There were also some genuinely sweet moments of interaction between soldiers and Iraqi children, but mostly the movie was focused on "our boys", their pride in themselves, and their understanding of the "mission" of mainly being a police force now, for which they have obvious distaste.
I think we were most struck by the ignorance and ill-preparedness of Americans over both the Iraqi culture, and the occupation part of the war itself. Many of the soldiers seemed to have no clue why they were still there. Scene after scene shows Americans screaming simple English commands at Iraqis who obviously don't understand, (couldn't the military have at least taught our soldiers how to say "get down" "move" "get out of the way" in Arabic?)
To me, it was not the most flattering portrait of American troops, but it was in line with some other things I have seen and read about our soldier's attitudes in Iraq, notably Evan Wright's excellent novel Generation Kill.
It also seemed to illustrate a hap-hazardness to the military war planning, especially the post invasion, occupation portion of it. Raised on video games and simple explanations of "democracy" and "freedom", most of the kids are confused by the Iraqi response to our attempt to "help" them, and their bonds with the few Iraqis in the movie appear to be as objects of derision, or as informants/helpers. Thrust into a horrible reality that no teenager should have to face, they respond mostly by shutting down, or burying their feelings about the war in creative pursuits like music and rapping, or in fraternal pranks, adolescent ribbing, and toilet humor.
The Dreams of Sparrows offered a much darker vision, because unlike the American soldiers, who eventually, if they make it through, will go home to comfortable American homes and conveniences, the Iraqi civilian's life and livelihood has been utterly destroyed by the war and the continued aftermath.
The footage obtained is unlike any we have seen in America because it is obtained from the inside, by an Iraqi.. from the chilling busload of insurgents on the way to Fallujah who swear to protect it and kill the infidels, to the matter of fact pro Bush, pro-liberation pronouncements of artists whose work was suppressed during Saddam's regime. It does not shy away from either pro or anti-American sentiments and while anecdotal, probably provides the best view of the current Iraqi mindset that I as an American have been allowed to see.
Director Haydar Daffar presents his subject matter in a point-counter point style as we see the opinions of Iraqis who love George Bush for being their liberator, alternated with the views of other Iraqi's who preferred life under Saddam. There are many sides to the story, but the unifying factor among the Iraqis interviewed was that things were not improving. The movie presented a stark picture of declining American support due to circumstances such as the death of friends, the continued lack of power and services, continued bombings and violence, and no end in sight to their troubles.
Many Iraqis who reacted positively initially to the toppling of Saddam are now turning intensely against the occupation. We've all read this in many articles, but to see it presented on the screen in the words of Iraqis living it gives it a whole new force. The filmmaker's friend and fellow producer is killed during filming, and the story of his "accidental" shooting (involving over 120 bullet holes in his car) by American soldiers is heartbreakingly related by another friend, who at the beginning of the movie had proudly displayed a picture of W in his wallet.
The two films together present a stunning if unpleasant double feature, one I would highly recommend in-between the weekend flag waving and fireworks.
