Restrepo (2010)

Journalist and author Sebastian Junger spent a year embedded with the Second Platoon in Afghanistan. Along with photographer Tim Hetherington, the duo documents the myriad of emotions from a brotherhood than most will never know. The Second Platoon is assigned to the most deadly valley in Afghani territory—the Korangal Valley. Must of the film is about soldiers fighting an enemy they can’t see, building dirt barriers, burning human excrement, and frustrated not only boredom, but the deaths of their fellow man.

What strikes me most about this film is how young these soldiers look. Amid the chaos and brutality of their mission are moments of great candor. Restrepo is violently engaging, graphically absorbing and bittersweet. The war-weary faces of these men speak volumes and Junger and Hetherington capture them wonderfully.

Regardless of your political opinions, as I see it, Restrepo is an honest look at futility—the Korangal Valley is abandoned altogether as the credits roll. You can’t help respect the raw honesty of the film, but in the same breath question why did we sacrifice young men’s lives for nothing. These boy’s—and they are just that—lives are irrevocably changed. Restrepo isn’t easy to watch for anyone with a soul.