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www.influencefilmforum.com Restrepo Discussion Guide Director: Sebastian Junger & Tim Hetherington Year: 2010 Time: 93 min You might know these directors from: Junger and Hetherington both made their directorial debut in RESTREPO. Hetherington worked as a cinematographer for The Devil Came on Horseback (2007). Junger is acclaimed author of books, “The Perfect Storm” and “War.” FILM SUMMARY RESTREPO illustrates the daily life of U.S. soldiers during their 15-month tour of duty in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington are the filmmakers. Junger is an adventurous reporter, and Hetherington, an experienced war-zone photographer. Together they create an extraordinary piece of journalistic work that takes viewers into the life of U.S. military deployment. Between May 2007 and July 2008, they follow a 15-man platoon into the Korangal Valley, to the remote outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. There they recorded firefights, reconnaissance missions, rowdy sessions of horseplay, and hours upon hours of grinding boredom. When the tour was over, Junger and Hetherington interviewed the soldiers to try and make sense of their experiences. RESTREPO avoids explicit political discussions and offers no commentary. The cameras never leave the valley. There are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment, to help them experience what the soldiers themselves experienced. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you. Discussion Guide Restrepo 1 www.influencefilmforum.com FILM THEMES RESTREPO was intentionally made to give viewers an opportunity to form their own conclusions about the war in Afghanistan. It is not an attempt to humanize war, but to reveal the humans physically involved in “Soldiers war, and to bring others closer to the reality we all share in. themselves are reluctant to WAR THROUGH THE EYES OF SOLDIERS This film prioritizes the experience of soldiers over the political issues of evaluate the the war in Afghanistan. Their movements, thoughts, and emotions are documented, allowing us to see the combat through their eyes, allowing costs of war, but us to see their fear, their boredom, their courage, and most of all, their someone must. humanity. Soldiers in combat grapple with existential questions that most people never ask until they get to the end of their lives. That evaluation, THE ENJOYMENT OF SERVING ongoing and Interviews with the soldiers clearly demonstrate that they suffer from post-traumatic stress. But it’s not clear that any of them have regrets unadulterated about their war experience. In fact, most soldiers end up returning to by politics, war zones. “Combat isn’t where you might die,” wrote Junger. “It’s where you find out whether you get to keep on living. Don’t underestimate the may be the one power of that revelation. Don’t underestimate the things young men will wager in order to play that game one more time.” thing a country absolutely owes DEHUMANIZATION OF THE ENEMY We typically think that all people have some basic human rights that the soldiers shouldn’t be violated. War, however, makes it difficult for stakeholders to recognize that they are part of a shared human community. who defend its Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing the borders.” enemy—making the enemy seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment. War ethics do have their place in international Sebastian Junger conventions, but the impulse to desecrate the enemy or to cheer at the sight of dead enemies still emerges. Hetherington said that going to war zones really changed him because it helped him realize how interconnected the world is. What happens in one place, to one person, “Often we happens everywhere, to everyone. see scenes of WAR JOURNALISM The film has been applauded for its unvarnished realism. Filmmakers disaster and tried to avoid evaluation of the overall war and get as close as possible to the soldiers to understand their emotional reality. forget the people However, Hetherington and Junger recognize their attachment to and are individuals identification with the soldiers. Junger said: “Journalistic convention holds that you can’t write objectively about people you’re close to, but with stories and you can’t write objectively about people who are shooting at you either.” They sought to make a totally objective film so that viewers could lives.” form their own conclusions, but in the end, Hetherington admits that Tim Hetherington documentaries are constructions, as is all journalism. Discussion Guide Restrepo 2 www.influencefilmforum.com FURTHER DISCUSSIONS: NOTES: 1. What were your intial reactions to the film? What impressed upon you the most? 2. What do you think about the filmmakers’ approach to RESTREPO as a war film? As a journalistic piece? 3. Consider your own personal experiences of war, whether it comes from movies and TV shows or first-hand participation in war. How do they correlate with the scenes in this film? 4. In what ways were you able to identify with the soldiers? What surprised you about their life in the midst of war? 5. Why do you think that surviving soldiers return to war zones? Is it for the feeling of brotherhood and sense of identity that military service facilitates? Or is it for the intensity of combat - the fear, complete terror, complete happiness of knowing you are alive -which is like a drug in itself? 6. What are you thoughts on the ”realism”used in this film? Do you think it is useful for viewers to experience the reality of war, in all of its stages, or should the reality be edited? Explain why. 7. At international conventions where war policies are made, a common topic is how to “civilize” war. Modern military tactics are geared at maneuvering the enemy into a position where they can be massacred humanely. What are your thoughts on this? Can war be humane, and is it possible to civilize men and women’s behavior in war? 8. Governments and media do a great job of disconnecting civilians from the reality of war, so that everyday life back home seems to exist on a different planet than the war zones. But actually, they are not two worlds apart. Did this film help you connect with Afghanistan in way you have never been able to connect before? Or did it help you understand how interconnecetd we all are in general? How so? 9. When the film ended, did you have answers to all of your questions? If not, what questions still linger for you? 10. How do you think soldiers should be welcomed back home? Should we re-integrate them into society? Should we try to make space for them and their experiences? Discussion Guide Restrepo 3 www.influencefilmforum.com FILM FACTS: • Human rights issues have been the main focus • Tim Hetherington was killed on 20 April 2011 of Junger’s overseas reporting since his first trip while covering the conflict in Libya. Sebastian to Bosnia in 1993. He has reported for Vanity Fair Junger paid tribute to his friend by compiling magazine from many war zones across the world. an insightful film devoted to Hetherington’s life He was trapped in Monrovia during the 2003 called, “Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? Liberian civil war, caught in Sierra Leone during The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington.” the 2000 civil war, and in 2006, briefly held by oil rebels in the Niger Delta. • Once, while filming an offensive attack, Hetherington broke his leg. The medic who • Junger simultaneously wrote dispatches for examined him said it wasn’t broken, which was a Vanity Fair, gathered material for his book “War,” lie, but they were four hours away from base and and made RESTREPO with Hetherington. the only way to get back was for Hetherington to walk. • Hetherington reported on conflict and human rights issues for more than 10 years. He was • The U.S. military closed the Korengal Outpost the only photographer to survive the rebel lines on 14 April 2010. The valley reverted to Taliban during the 2003 Liberian civil war. His time in control, but was re-opened by the U.S. in June Liberia culminated in the film “Liberia: an Uncivil 2011 due to growing problems with the anti- War,” and the book “Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Afghanistan forces or anti-coalition militia. Retold.” • Seven men died during the deployment, • In 2006, Hetherinton partnered with Human including Juan “Doc” Restrepo, now the Rights Watch to reveal civilian massacres on namesake for platoon’s remote outpost. the Chad-Darfur border. This footage appeared in the documentary film, THE DEVIL CAME ON • About one-third of the outpost soldiers were re- HORSEBACK. deployed back to Kunar, Afghanistan. • As journalists, Junger and Hetherington had • Each javelin round used in the war cost $80,000. more war experience than any of the soldiers It’s fired by a guy who doesn’t make that in a they were surrounded by. year at a guy who doesn’t make that in a lifetime. WAYS TO INFLUENCE 1. Share this film. Gives others an opportunity to learn and grow from this story. 2. Read “War” by Sebastian Junger, which describes his 15-month experience in Korengal Valley in more depth. 3. Support the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) as they work with soldiers returning from war conflict. 4. Make a donation in memory of Tim Hetherington. The Hetherington family has named three charities for which you can make donations: Milton Margai School for the Blind in Sierra Leone, Human Rights Watch, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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