Next must-see movie - The War Tapes

This one is going to be one helluva ride. The War Tapes is a movie about five soldiers from a New Hampshire National Guard unit - C Company, 3rd of the 172nd Mountain Infantry - who taped their experiences in Iraq. To be up front, it's not a political movie, so far as I can see.

I listened to a Podcast interview the other day with the director of the movie, Deborah Scranton, and she had this to say:

"I wanted to really get to as close to the experience of war as possible; to climb inside and feel it all around," said Scranton. "The comments that we're getting is that the level of authenticity has never before been seen."

Scranton maintains that it's not a political documentary/movie - there are some political beliefs in the film spoken by some of the soldiers, but the movie is not made from the persepective of being pro-war or anti-war. That's Scranton's position, but viewers will have to decide.

However, Staff Sergeant Zack Bazzi, one of the soldiers who shot footage for the documentary, agrees with her on that count, saying, "I think she has succeeded in making a non-political film about the war."

Bazzi had some pretty powerful things to say about the movie and the war in this same Podcast.

"I do believe that Americans should know what war is like," said Bazzi. "I don't care if you are for the war or against the war. The fact is, you can't take a position on something you do not understand. And if that [the footage] happens to be gruesome, tough luck. [The war] is being done in your name as a country. I think it's a moral and political responsibility to [see the effects of war]."

I have no way in knowing, but it's my guess that most Americans have no idea about the cost of this war. Maybe in financial terms, yes (and it's quickly running into the hundreds of billions of dollars). But, in terms of death, mayhem and destruction, both on U.S. soldiers and the citizens of Iraq, no.

Many on the right paint dissenters about the war as unpatriotic, un-American or "sympathisizing with the terrorists." I have nothing but a giant fuck you for people of this ilk, but also something slightly more intelligent to say: You don't understand America.

Wasn't it Thomas Jefferson who said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism"?

Often when I criticize Bush, (and that's often) especially in the presence of right-wingers, I get this doozy - "If you don't like America, leave!" So, that's what we've come to? A half-baked witticism (and that's being kind) when you hear a political belief you don't happen to agree with? Now, people should leave the country if they disagree? Puleeze. My own half-baked response to those people? If you love Bush's war so much, what are you still doing here? Shut up and ship out.

Anyway, I think this is an important film, and I'm not alone. Here's a few quotes from the movie's Web site:

"Riveting! Compelling!... Gives a stronger taste of the Iraq war experience than any film I can remember."- Stephen Holden, The New York Times

“The first indispensable Iraq documentary.”- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"Remarkable. Very moving. Very real."- Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

"The single best document (book, film or article) you could see" on the war in Iraq - John Fisher Burns, the New York Times' Baghdad bureau chief and two-time Pulitzer Prize winning foreign correspondent

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Not bad words, coming from the author of Black Hawk Down and the New York Times' Baghdad bureau chief.

This movie is a must see. As usual about movies I write about here, I'll review it when I see it.

The War Tapes opens August 9th.

More Inconvenient stuff to mull over

You may be asking yourself, "Will RJ ever shut up about that Al Gore movie?" The answer is no. I think it's one of the most important documentaries ever made, and I hope it has a lasting impact; it's already had a powerful one, but I'm optimistic this film "has legs" and will continue to generate much-needed debate on global warming.

The above interview aired on The Guardian/the British Channel 4, and it is pretty enlightening. In it, Gore mentions energy-saving light bulbs, which I have previously blogged about. Go to that story Here.

An Inconvenient Truth is already the fourth highest grossing documentary of all time, right behind Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins and Bowling for Columbine. Wow, Michael Moore is in the top three, twice. That's gotta piss off a lot of conservatives, so that's a bonus. Anyway, as of July 19, the film has grossed $17,398,935 - pretty impressive for a film that's not in major release.

Entertainment Weekly recently did a pretty good story on Gore. Get it Here or click on the picture.

People's minds seem to be changing, and from some unlikely sources, too. Check these:

Roger Friedman of Fox News has said, "It doesn't matter whether you're Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, your mind will be changed in a nanosecond."

Even Bill O'Lielly, a man I totally despise, had this to say: "You outta listen to Al Gore about this global warming. The world is getting warm." Wow, and he didn't even lie in that sentence!

My favorite quote about the movie comes from Roger Ebert, and this ought to move you - he's been reviewing movies for nearly four decades. In his review, he writes, "In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to."

Roger, Roger.