Monthly Archives: September 2010

“Restrepo” is author Sebastian Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington’s war documentary of a year with an American Army platoon at an outpost in the Korengal Valley, one of the most dangerous places of fighting in the Afghanistan war. It’s been mentioned as a real-life kind of “Hurt Locker,” in reference to this year’s Oscar-winning war picture. But “Restrepo” isn’t about a bomb squad; it’s about a platoon setting up and defending a remote mountainous outpost called “Restrepo,” named in memory of a medic killed there.

I was a bit nervous to see it before going to the documentary, but I wanted to get a real slice of the war and what these soldiers are going through. The film made me jumpy for sure; the enemy isn’t really ever seen, but the gunfire comes from anywhere at any time. The U.S. soldiers there endured on average four firefights a day and at times thought their outpost, Restrepo, would be overrun by the Taliban. When the platoon goes on a mission outside of their fort things get scarier and I jumped in my seat at one point.

The soldiers’ narration and their lives at Restrepo are revealing and draw viewers into their world, making you feel as if you’re experiencing war firsthand. The view the film leaves of the Korengal Valley, where more than 40 soldiers have been killed since 2005, is disheartening; The mountainous region and the relentless enemy make the war seem futile in Afghanistan. Ultimately, the military decided to pull out of the Korengal Valley in April 2010. Will the rest of the American troops in Afghanistan soon do the same? Continue reading →