Restrepo (2010)

I'm writing this literally minutes after finishing my viewing of Restrepo so it's a little odd to proclaim a movie to be unforgettable at this point but that's what I'm doing. I have never seen a film that puts the viewer so into the middle of a war zone with actual, first hand footage. This is a movie that quite simply, everyone must see.

Restrepo follows the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne) of the 103rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley for a year. The film is named after an outpost the soldiers defend which is in turn named after PFC Juan, S Restrepo who was killed in action. These soldiers took fire literally every day and the Korengal Valley was dubbed "The Valley of Death" by U.S. forces.

I'm not going into too many specific reasons and example of why the film is so amazing and memorable but after people view it for themselves, I'm positive they'll have the same reaction I did. The film is loosely structured and there isn't an overriding narrative. It just shows honestly and accurately what these men went through. There are a large number of face to face interviews that are just as powerful as the filmed footage. Restrepo also, and unlike almost every single documentary that comes out today, doesn't have a political angle. The filmmakers (journalist Sebastian Junger, and photographer Tim Hetherington) don't push a specific point of view. They keep themselves entirely out of the film and let the audience take in what was happened and make judgments for themselves.

I encourage everyone to watch Restrepo as soon as possible. If you have a Netflix account, it's streaming there and if you don't it is well worth your time to acquire a copy. I don't know if this film will win the Oscar for best documentary, due it's lack of a strong narrative, but I doubt you'll find a more honest or moving documentary in this years crop.

Rating: 5/5