I heard about Restrepo when it first came out in 2010 – it’s been on my to-see list (and my 101 in 1001) ever since.
It’s about the American military’s advance into the Korengal valley in Afghanistan. It follows a platoon there as they try to open up a road way and keep the community free from Taliban. Members die, others are injured and every day they are in a fight for their lives.
I don’t know much about war, but this seems to be the best way to show the reality (far better than a fictionalized account of the same thing).
You see the good moments, and the awful. You see the emotion as it happens, but also in interviews with the men who survive and recall their time at Outpost Restrepo for the film. The Outpost was named after Juan Restrepo, a platoon medic, who was killed. From the opening scenes to the choice of music – Barroom Hero by the Dropkick Murphys – for the credits this is a movie that pays attention to detail.
I can’t call it good, because the topic is so sad, but if you haven’t seen it, I think it is absolutely worth the hour and a half.
If for no other reason than to celebrate the work of a photojournalist who has since died doing the job he loved. Tim Hetherington was killed while filming the 2011 Libyan war.
Rules for living 