The place is the outpost of resprepo at the top of the mountain. Jump to video junger tells story of afghan war through soldiers eyes. In war journalist sebastian junger takes a topic the public has grown weary of and turns it upside. No, i still havent seen lone survivor yet, but thats only.
When the american military was there, they faced the same challenges the afghan forces do today. Theres a documentary on hbo called only the dead see the end of war that has a rawness to it that i have never seen before. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the u. Broadway centre restrepo gets most of us as close as we would ever want to get to war. The film talks about brotherhood of one soldier to another, the peace talks with the people, and construction of the outpost, op restrepo. Restrepos repeated tight shots on the faces of earnest young american soldiers are the perfect metaphor for whats lacking in the film and what makes it almost useless for telling us anything of note about the real. As a book, war suffers from many of the pitfalls that afflicted its movie companion, the documentary restrepo. The afghanistan war started in the early 2000s and while many people wouldnt want to hear the news about the suffering and bloodshed, a peek into the frontlines wouldnt be that bad.
Junger, along with hetherington, used material gathered in the korengal valley of afghanistan for the book and to create a related documentary feature restrepo. He wrote several books such as war which is about his time spent with a u. Unintended star of restrepo returns to afghanistan stripes. Army platoons entire 15 month deployment to afghanistans korangal valley, one of the most dangerous places in the world. In 2000, this book was made into a film starring george clooney and mark wahlberg. The hbo documentary the battle for marjah chronicling the exploits of bravo company, 1st battalion, 6th marine regiment, 2nd marine division during. The documentary that came out of the same experience is called restrepo, and has been playing in select theatres around the country for about 2 weeks now. Abc news jake tappers new book delves into infamous 2009 taliban attack on 53 u. Sebastian junger and tim hetherington codirected restrepo, a documentary about the war in afghanistan, which opens friday. Waco veteran cited in afghan war book enjoying domestic life. The chicken commander icelandic documentary film, 2004. Nevertheless, the movie based its story on the visceral power of the restrepo is real. Jul 26, 2016 the bestselling author of war and codirector of the striking afghan war documentary restrepo which is an absolute mustsee, junger wrestles in this book with the vast discontinuities between the surprisingly uplifting experience of bonding in combat and the reality of coming home to a fractured nation lacking any sense of solidarity. Their experience embedded with one platoon thats been tasked with securing a hilltop combat outpost as part of the armys counterinsurgency offensive on the afghan pakistan border is the subject of their riveting new documentary, restrepo, winner of the documentary grand jury prize at the 2010 sundance film festival.
Apr 15, 2014 while hell and back again stands as my favorite oefafghan war film i was in helmand province, so seeing that same terrain, which was just a few neighborhoods to the north of where i was at for seven months really registered with me restrepo is a very close second place. May 27, 2015 restrepo chronicles the deployment of a u. Author and journalist sebastian junger was nominated for an oscar for his afghan war documentary restrepo. Getting the right read on americas afghan war cbs news. The result jungers book war and the new documentary restrepo is an. They were in the korangal valley, described on cnn as the most dangerous place in the world. Author depicts reality of afghan war combat pbs newshour extra. Junger is embedded with a group of soldiers in a valley near pakistan. The documentary restrepo is an unsparing, upclose look at the life of a group of soldiers in the deadly korangal valley of afghanistan. For decades, author sebastian junger has been covering wars all over the world, but he never imagined that his book, war, and movie. He is also the author of the perfect storm and death. Since march 2010, there are not isaf tropps anymore, just talibans the. List of documentary films and tv specials about the war in afghanistan 2001present afghan massacre.
Sebastian junger and tim hetherington are the filmmakers. Jul 14, 2017 sebastian junger on war and restrepo in afghanistan. Junger is an adventurous reporter, and hetherington, an experienced warzone photographer. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the us military. Restrepo 12 documentary feature about the war in afghanistan. Sep 21, 2011 the hbo documentary the battle for marjah chronicling the exploits of bravo company, 1st battalion, 6th marine regiment, 2nd marine division during operation moshtarak. Sebastian jungers 2010 book war, and the subsequent film restrepo, document his experiences while embedded with battle company, 2nd battalion, 503rd infantry, 173rd airborne brigade combat team manning the small outpost restrepo, named for fallen medic juan sebastian restrepo, in the korangal valley. Perhaps as an unfortunate reflection of the times, the theater of war has been the focus of some excellent if harrowing fictional movies in recent years, as well as some thoughtprovoking dramatization of real events. Some of these dangers are common across afghanistan, while some only existed in korengal valley and the other branches of the pech river valley. War, jungers bestselling book about his afghan experiences, announces with its title that its aiming for universal sweep. Strategic outposts first annual summer vacation reading list.
Apr 16, 2012 kunar province, eastern afghanistan, valley korengal. It is not like the hurt locker no offense, but this is actual camera work during the war. In july, guernica ran a piece by nick turse that criticized the recent war documentary restrepo for featuring the stories of american soldiers, rather than afghan civilians. Jun 06, 2014 the korengal valley is a visceral symbol in the yearold war. A featurelength documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of u. Junger spent extensive time with the soldiers at the restrepo outpost during the afghan war, which saw more combat than any other part of afghanistan. Restrepo is a visceral, powerful documentary on the war in afghanistan, but i found it to be way overhyped. New documentary about afghan war focuses on soldiers hearts.
Filmmakers sebastian junger and tim hetherington followed a platoon through an entire deployment in afghanistan. The bestselling author of war and codirector of the striking afghan war documentary restrepo which is an absolute mustsee, junger wrestles in this book with the vast discontinuities between the surprisingly uplifting experience of bonding in combat and the reality of coming home to a fractured nation lacking any sense of solidarity. June 11, 2010 author depicts reality of afghan war combat. Sep 14, 2010 in an effort to expand this conversation even further, hetherington agreed to answer a series of questions about his experiences in afghanistan and the process of creating a war documentary. What sebastian junger and restrepo wont tell you about war. Tim hetherington photographer profiles magnum photos. The cameramen must have been paid a lot to be in a warzone that is considered the most dangerous of all war zone. After hundreds of billions of dollars spent in afghanistan and more than 2,300 american lives lost, the taliban are weakened but. At the sundance film festival in 2010 his documentary restrepo won grand jury prize for a domestic documentary. See more ideas about valley of death, war and documentaries. New documentary about afghan war focuses on soldiers hearts and minds. The film explores the year were junger and hetherington spent time in afghanistan on the vanity fair assignment.
The korengal valley is a visceral symbol in the yearold war. Documentary on afghan war attempts to show what soldiers. The movie focuses on a remote 15man outpost, restrepo, named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. Only during wide shots in restrepo do we catch fleeting glimpses of that real war. In his critique of restrepo, nick turse claimed the film doesnt accurately expose the true face of war. Pfc restrepo was killed and one of their corades, vimoto, as well.
Hetherington, the codirector of the oscarnominated afghan war documentary restrepo, died in the besieged libyan town of misurata on april 20, doctors said. Documentary restrepo puts soldiers face on war in afghanistan. List of documentary films and tv specials about the war in afghanistan 2001present. Documentary from perfect storm author, war photographer presents grunts view of afghanistan anyone looking for a light at the end of tunnel wont find it in restrepo, a sundance. Mar 01, 2011 restrepo bears witness to afghanistan war. The documentary korengal revisits the same troops from 2011s restrepo who have bonded in war. Jul 15, 2010 war, jungers bestselling book about his afghan experiences, announces with its title that its aiming for universal sweep.
This book is the very best summary of the stupidity of the afghan war and also a well written study of the emotional make up of courageous soldiers and what makes them psychologically tick. Military death toll in afghan war reaches new milestone. The overly ambitious title belies the fact that it is not about war, but one. Afghanistan is a word on the news, debated in terms of our foreign policy. Documentary restrepo restrepo is a documentary film that talks about the afghanistan war, directed by the american journalist sebastian junger and the photojournalist tim hetherington. Junger is embedded with a group of soldiers in a valley near. The 9 best war movies about afghanistan military gurus. Now a grown man, he must return to his childhood home to deal with the past. It tells the story of an american afghan and his childhood best friend and a horrible sexual assault that occurred when they were children.
Jun 20, 2010 the documentary restrepo is an unsparing, upclose look at the life of a group of soldiers in the deadly korangal valley of afghanistan. Second platoon soldiers on patrol in korengal valley, afghanistan. Afghan war film to be shown at nys museum the daily gazette. Sebastian jungers 2010 book war, and the subsequent film restrepo, document his experiences while embedded with battle company, 2nd battalion, 503rd infantry, 173rd airborne brigade combat team manning the small outpost restrepo, named for fallen medic. The film explores the year that junger and hetherington spent in afghanistan on assignment for vanity fair, embedded with the second platoon, b company, 2nd battalion, 503rd. When journalist and author sebastian junger embedded himself with a small group of soldiers in an isolated outpost called restrepo in the. The tragic story of outpost restrepo sums up the whole afghan war. The film was nominated for an academy award for best documentary feature and won the grand jury prize for a domestic documentary at the sundance film festival in 2010.
The assignment extended into a twoyear study that resulted in an astonishing array of work that included traditional journalistic coverage of the afghan war and a profound study of fighting men in the multiscreen multimedia project sleeping soldiers, a flyposter exhibition, the book infidel, and the feature documentary restrepo. Oscarnominated filmmaker sebastian junger unravels syrian. Jul 10, 2010 sebastian junger and tim hetherington codirected restrepo, a documentary about the war in afghanistan, which opens friday. Sebastian junger on war and restrepo in afghanistan. At the sundance film festival in 2010 his documentary restrepo. Tim hetherington, an esteemed photojournalist and an oscar nominee for a gritty and harrowing documentary about the afghan war, was killed in the wartorn libyan city of misrata, the president of the agency that represented him said wednesday. Restrepo, which is named after a beloved, martyred. Waco veteran cited in afghan war book enjoying domestic. Restrepo shows afghan war through soldiers eyes opinion. It wasnt as powerful or as warlike as i expected it to be, but that put aside, i felt.
The journalists time at restrepo also resulted in jungers book war and hetheringtons photoessay book. The convoy of death documentary film, 2002 the chicken commander icelandic documentary film, 2004. Author depicts reality of afghan war combat pbs newshour. Restrepos repeated tight shots on the faces of earnest young american soldiers are the perfect metaphor for whats lacking in the film and what makes it almost useless for telling us anything of note about the real war in afghanistan. This past weekend i finished reading sebastian jungers new book war which along with the accompanying documentary restrepo directed by both junger and photojournalist tim hetherington documents one u. Nobody thinks about foreign policy in restrepo, a documentary shot during the 15 months an american company fought there under almost daily fire.
Restrepo shows afghanistan through soldiers eyes the. Upon completion of the book, i had to go view restrepo which is the documentary that was shot in conjunction with the book by junger and another film maker that he spent several tours with during the writing of the book in the hopes that i could learn more about the individuals listed in the book. Restrepo is a 2010 american documentary film about the afghanistan war, directed by american journalist sebastian junger and british photojournalist tim hetherington. It included traditional journalistic coverage of the afghan war, a profound study of fighting men in the multiscreen multimedia project sleeping soldiers, a flyposter exhibition, the book infidel, and the feature documentary restrepo which earned hetherington and junger an. It also shows war scenes between the talibans and american forces especially with sgt. Misha pemblebelkin, made famous by the documentary restrepo and the book war, has returned to kunar province in eastern afghanistan as a platoon sergeant with b company of the 3rd. Junger also wrote a book about the topic, called war. While there with the troops for nearly 16 months, he and cinema photographer tim hetherington also were filming. Restrepo, an awardwinning documentary codirected by sebastian junger, the bestselling author of war and the perfect storm, will be shown tuesday at the new york state museum. Jungers latest book is war, about his experience as an embedded journalist with the 173rd airborne in afghanistan, in a place called the korengal valley. Restrepo documents afghan war at human level the seattle. Based on the bestselling book, the kite runner is one of the worst movies about the war in afghanistan.
Oct 10, 20 restrepo sits alongside jungers articles, hetheringtons pictures, including the acclaimed book infidel, and jungers fulllength narrative war. The experience became jungers book war, and the documentary restrepo, which was nominated for the academy award for best documentary in 2011. Jun 25, 2010 book recounts authors trips to korengal valley junger was embedded five times between june 2007 and june 2008 below. Rather than focusing on the politics of the war in. Bestselling author sebastian junger and photojournalist tim hetherington, both seasoned war reporters, have just released a powerful new documentary, restrepo.
Warm, moving and full of humor, this book is a tribute to the rough men ready to do violence on our behalf and a provocative contribution to the documentation of war in our time. It won the sundance film festival documentary grand jury prize earlier this year. The result jungers book war and the new documentary restrepo. Into the valley of death, and back out again filmmaker and war photographer tim hetherington talks about his yearlong embed in afghanistan by marc savlov, fri.
Restrepo is a featurelength documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of u. Documentary from perfect storm author, war photographer presents grunts view of afghanistan anyone looking for a light at the end of tunnel wont find it. I thought restrepo and baghdad er were raw, but only the dead blows that out of the water. Restrepo bears witness to afghanistan war lateline. Jun 26, 2014 second platoon soldiers on patrol in korengal valley, afghanistan.
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