I went to check out Restrepo the other day, because I love documentaries. And because it was made, in part, by one of my favorite photojournalists And because the narrative of the war seems to permeate every channel in this little country of ours.
I don’t want to give too much away, because I really think you ought to see it for yourself, but I was struck by two very powerful thoughts.
First, I know absolutely nothing about Afghanistan. I hear a lot about it – about the Kandahar airfield, about a possible mission extension, about elections, about Hamid Karzai. But I know nothing about the country. The first view of the sweeping landscapes of the Koregal valley, the tiny huts that dot the landscape, the heat, the snow. The seasons. Seeing a place makes everything feel real. Like, this is really happening. There are actual people living in Afghanistan, whose lives are greatly impacted by all these policy decisions I keep hearing on the radio. Seems obvious, but Restrepo allowed me the space to empathize with a situation I have no real personal experience with. Powerful stuff.
Second, the boys fighting over there are just that; boys. They’re like, 20 years old, at most. And yes, I already kinda new that, but seeing it with my own eyes, understanding what it means to be 20 years old, parading around a land you don’t understand, mumbling some nonsense about hearts and minds. Intense.
The film is intentionally apolitical, taking instead a cinema verite approach to just what it means to be at war. But at the end one message came across loud and clear, at least for me. I won’t tell you what it is though. I want you to go and see it for yourself.
