Most Iraq war movies focus on how dishonest the push to war was, or how hopeless the fight is. The Hurt Locker assumes both, then dismisses them through a protagonist addicted to war and its adrenaline-inducing chaos. The movie is hard to watch if you actually consider the cost of supporting people like him, with its minimal ROI, and as displayed in embedded documentary Gunner Palace, about a squad living out of one of Uday Hussein's palaces just after the "victory" in the war in Iraq, around 2003. But Hurt Locker is easy to get pulled into, if you've ever enjoyed an episode of GI Joe.
The main character is a bomb, or IED, defuser. He's old school, doing such gallant acts as throwing off his communication devices and forgoing use of the bomb robot; if you can imagine an action hero star who prefers analog life (see Die Hard) you'll get my drift. So this flawed hero ignores his family, rides his men, and never gets hurt. Nearly everyone else does. How is he such a superman?
We never really find out. He's Daniel Craig style tormented, ripped--diesel, and not afraid to fight. I guess he's the ideal soldier. So he saves a few lives, places too much emphasis on his relationship with a young local boy, to compensate for failing with his family at home, I guess, and the rest of the characters falter and pray for home. He's not cruel, as one of the higher ranking officers in the film is, preferring to let an insurgent die than receive medical care. He's just addicted to war.
So it goes. Hurt Locker dares you to dream of a world where war is sport, and just as meaningless. Go team USA!
Gunner Palace, on the other hand, is more comfortable dwelling in the silent moments, after the enthusiasm wears off, and soldiers are left with only their weak explanations and vivid memories.
The only hint of Locker's addiction to war found in the doc Gunner Palace is when a young soldier exclaims his joy for being in Iraq. From a small town, natch, the young man says that at his age, about 19, he can say he's been in war, with combat experience. How many people can say that? he asks. The expression of enthusiasm on his face proves that the need still exists to prove your manhood or see the world through war. I wonder whether any alternatives can capture the imagination in such a romantic way. That said, there's nothing too romantic about all the raps--literally, mostly African-American soldiers spitting rhymes next to their Humvees, while beat-keepers smack their hands on the hood--that Gunner Palace prominently features. I liked those.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 03, 2009
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