Restrepo

★★★★

(2010)

Restrepo chronicles one year in the life of a platoon of soldiers fighting against a strong hold of Taliban in the most dangerous place in Afganistan, the Karangul Valley. It’s techniques are simple and effective using a minimal soundtrack and some intricate editing work to bring the full force of war home on an extremely personal level.

Shot by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, who lived on the front line with the platoon, it uses only footage from the year under fire and deep retrospective interviews from the soldiers themselves. The bond of men at war has obviously been tackled a billion times before in both feature and documentary but its the more surreal elements in Restrepo that make it stand out in the barrage of flag waving American war documentaries.

Elements of Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s brilliant Gunnar Palace linger but without the M*A*S*H and madness element, however Restrepo powerfully succeeds in painting an interesting and unique picture of people in war.