Movie Review: Restrepo
“Everybody is like, ‘Oh, you’re going to the Korengal?,’ and they feel bad for you,” explains Captain Dan Kearney during the opening moments of Restrepo, a new documentary from war correspondent and war photographer turned filmmakers, Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, respectively. The “Korengal” Capt. Kearney speaks of, the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan, is known as the most dangerous venue for fighting the war on terror. Some, including Kearney, go as far as to describe it as “the deadliest place on earth.” These claims, as hyperbolic as they may seem, are likely not too far off; it’s estimated that by 2007 about one fifth of all combat in Afghanistan took place in the valley.
Beginning in May of 2007, Junger and Hetherington spent fourteen months in the Korengal, documenting the experiences of the soldiers of Second Platoon of Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. During this time, the men witnessed the construction of Restrepo – a remote outpost named after Juan “Doc” Restrepo, a medic killed in battle shortly before construction began. Restrepo – located closer to Taliban strongholds than any other base – is far removed from the safety and luxury (or at least the illusions of those things) found in other, more sophisticated camps. Restrepo is a largely makeshift base, built by the soldiers, by hand, using primarily just sand bags and strips of metal. Between the piling of sandbags to create their new home, the soldiers engage in combat daily. Their isolation and vulnerability is felt in every frame of Junger and Hetherington’s film.
Constructed using only live onsite footage from Restrepo and interviews with the surviving members of the platoon, Restrepo steers clear of overt political motives. There are no expert analyses or pundit opinions clouding the portrayal of the soldiers’ experiences. We are given an uncensored look into the hectic and dangerous lives of those fighting for our freedom. Junger and Hetherington are careful to avoid inserting any commentary into their project, instead opting for a just-the-facts approach.
In providing nothing but depictions of battles, interviews with soldiers and footage of the negotiation meetings with Afghan locals, Restrepo often feels a bit meandering. It is hard as a viewer to see this film as a story – there is no fluid narrative or obvious message to grab onto. The movie can be tonally uneven; often shifting from an intense battle scene, to an emotional interview, to lighthearted footage of soldiers interacting with one another, to dull negotiations, and right back to battle – all very quickly, with little to connect the individual scenes besides a few familiar faces.
Still these individual scenes are effective. While watching Restrepo, one empathizes deeply with these soldiers’ struggles. It’s impossible not to be affected by the tearful recollections of battles in which a soldier loses a close friend. The scenes in which the filmmakers capture combat with impossible intimacy are frightening and exciting, but also sobering. There is no question that life in Korengal is dangerous and difficult – just spending an hour and a half watching this film feels like a harrowing experience, actually being there would be devastating.
While the lack of a cohesive narrative makes Restrepo a little tougher to digest as a motion picture, it does achieve one thing well: it captures the chaos experienced by these soldiers every day. Given the contention over whether or not our mission in the Middle East is just or worthwhile, perhaps it is appropriate that the story and message of the film is unclear. Regardless of politics, though, Restrepo undoubtedly reinforces the notion that, as Americans, we owe an unfathomable debt to our men and women in uniform.
