Pre-Trip Review

Hey everybody! Can't wait to get to Cannes for a month of awesome experiences, but before we go, here is my pre-trip review. I chose to review "The Hurt Locker" (2008) a couple of weeks ago for several reasons. First of all, seeing as how it has won so many awards and the praise of many critics I was interested to see if it lived up to the hype. Secondly, I love watching war movies not just because I like action, but also because war is such a controversial and dynamic subject that I like to see how directors portray it. Whether the film seeks to use the context of war in order to engage the audience with an epic adventure and tails of heroism (as in films like "Troy" and "Braveheart") or whether it seeks to make a social or political statement (like in Cameron's "Avatar") there is never a shortage of lively debate and diverse perspectives. So without further ado, here it is.

"The Hurt Locker" (2008)

By: Hunter Hodge

In preparing to watch this movie I was actually very reticent because I thought it would probably be another run-of-the-mill anti-American, anti-war movie. I was surprised to find, however, that though there were definitely anti-war sentiments, these were expressed more on the individual, human level as opposed to the macro, political level as was so unashamedly displayed in James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

Set in Baghdad in 2004, “The Hurt Locker” is an intensely psychological movie focusing on the personal trials and experiences of three men working to defuse bombs in the streets of the ravaged Iraqi capital. Never knowing whom to trust or when they may draw their last breath, we follow Sgt. First Class William James (Jeremy Renner), Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) as they face death, uncertainty, and heartbreak on a daily basis.

Beginning with the opening scene in which partners Specialist Owen Eldridge and Sgt. Sanborn struggle to identify the good guys from the bad and watch in horror as their routine mission literally blows up in the face of their leader, both men are forced to cope with the transience of life while working to accept a new leader in the form of the uncontrollable Sgt. First Class Will James. Often labeled a rogue with “wild” and “careless” tendencies, Sgt. James is a far cry from Sanborn and Eldridge’s now deceased former commander who had been more of a father figure than a cowboy. Amidst the pain of grieving their commander, Eldridge and Sanborn quickly come into conflict with Will as the “Sarcastic Soldier’s” unorthodox and seemingly care-free ways put all three men in mortal peril on more than one occasion.

At one point, in a clear demonstration of the psychologically corrosive effects of war, Sanborn seems to enter into a murderous trance in which he plots to kill Will and cover it up. The director pulls the audience into this frighteningly gripping scene as he flashes back and forth between music-blaring humvee transporting a care-free Will to find his lost gloves, and the motionless close up of Sanborn’s face in which the audience clearly sees the calm, calculated development of Sanborn’s plan to kill Will and cover it up. This masterful sequence of frames, combined with the mix of camera shots of innocent Specialist’s horrified face leads the audience to sympathize with the soldiers’ plight as each viewer contemplates what he or she might do in the midst of war when no one was looking.

In fact, I think one of the most powerful things about this movie, and which Director Kathryn Bigelow executes flawlessly, is the ability of the picture to grab the audience and throw them into the difficult psychological struggles faced by our soldiers everyday. The film seems neither to cast shame nor praise on our soldiers fighting on the front lines, but rather to sympathize with them and show us that nothing is ever cut-and-dry in life or in war.

Another gripping scene that pulled on my own heartstrings and forced me to question my ideals was one in which several US Marines have just captured an injured insurgent who tried to blow up a car bomb that would have killed hundreds of US soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians. As an eager US medic is treating the wounded insurgent, he shouts in excitement to his commander that the man can be saved. However, the commander, obviously a seasoned veteran of the war and its many casualties, omnipotently and sneeringly replies “No he won’t,” and turns away from the insurgent as another Marine walks up to the man and shoots him.

The reason I found this scene so compelling was how it drew out the conflict between my fear and loving protectionism of my fellow countrymen (the Marines), and my desire for peace and love of all human life. In fact, my first reaction was to stand up and cheer the commander. I was incensed by this bomber’s murderous intentions to ignite the city, its people, and “our boys” in flames, and thought aloud, “Good, he got what he deserved.” And then I caught myself. As I saw the hardened commander juxtaposed to the eager medic doing his best to save this man’s life as if he were another innocent emergency room patient back home in the US, I felt the tug of my love for humanity and value for human life begin to fight back at my bitterness, hatred, and lust for vengeance.

So how do we cope with these competing feelings? That is the tragedy of the common soldier and the cruel price of war that our brave soldiers pay everyday. Sworn to protect, defend and provide a better life for the innocent and those they love, our brave men and women are doomed by that same promise of hope and commitment to violate the very principles of life, liberty and happiness they have sworn to defend. Thus I believe the moral of this story is to suspend our judgment of others, whether soldier or insurgent, until you have lived and suffered in their shoes.