John Adams, in a letter to his long-time friend Dr. Benjamin Rush, said: “War necessarily brings with it some virtues and great and heroic virtues, too. ... What horrid creatures we men are that we cannot be virtuous without murdering one another.”
On this Memorial Day, as Americans look forward to the long weekend that has come to signify the commencement of summer, perhaps one way to honor the true meaning of this day of remembrance is to look back at some of the most powerful films on war.
The plethora of outstanding pictures dealing with this subject that have surfaced in the last few years have illustrated with excruciating realism the experience of the soldier and the virtues and evils of war. As we honor our fallen heroes, here are a few picks that deserve another look.
Fighting For Life, by Terry Sanders, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, premiered Memorial Day of last year, bringing the war into our reality with vivid clarity. “Fighting For Life, [is] a feature documentary I made about military medicine—the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and the wounded,” said Sanders in the Huffington Post website. “The film focuses on the incredible skill, compassion, and dedication of military doctors, nurses, medics, and medevac teams and the heroic fight that begins when the battle ends.”
During his four-and-a-half days filming at the Air Force Combat Support Hospital in Balad, Iraq, in January 2006, Sanders wrote notes that he later published in a blog:
“We plunge into filming, ‘capturing reality’ with our hand-held HDV camera, using only available light, making ourselves as ‘invisible’ as possible. No one pays attention to us. Too involved in saving lives and limbs.”
“Doctors, nurses, medical technicians, air transport teams very focused. Work together smoothly, efficiently. They have lots of practice—80-hour work weeks, with little let up. We film great caring and compassion—numbness and exhaustion, too,” Sanders recalls.
A classically suspenseful and gritty film is The Hurt Locker, which won Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards this past year. It focuses on the specialized squad known as United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). The film follows the EOD unit during the Iraq War under the enormous pressure of bomb defusing, insurgency, and interpersonal tensions.
Psychological, artful, edgy, and inventive describes the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008, Waltz with Bashir.”Based on the true story of Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman’s expedition into the imaginative landscape of his past, Waltz with Bashir is a surreal animated documentary that investigates the relationship between memory, war, and trauma.
On a tender note, a film more heart than brawn, given its sheer eloquence and compassion, is The Way We Get By. This documentary depicts the sacrifice and courage, not only of the young soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the dedication of the deeply committed aging Troop Greeters who welcome them home or send them off. It is a tender glimpse into the lives of these otherwise anonymous citizens who are less concerned about the politics of war, than the sons, daughters, spouses, parents, friends, and siblings who get on and off the aircrafts daily, without certainty of return.
The Messenger is a drama that according to reviewer Lance Jackson “does not look away … as it charts the emotional and physiological development of two traumatized American war vets that have been given the formidable job of casualty notification.” They must find the inner strength to face oneself, become whole, good, noble, and true.
Sanders concurs in his piece for the Huffington Post that as we remember those that have perished in service, we must also remember those who have been wounded of body, mind, or spirit.
“I came away from filming Fighting For Life with a hope that the lasting legacy of the documentary would be to help remind us of our obligation to the wounded. I fear that 15 years from now, they may be forgotten. And that would be truly tragic.
“The ongoing hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in over 5,000 American dead,” acknowledges the filmmaker. “It is equally important on this day to remember and reflect on the fact that for every soldier or marine killed, there are 10 who were wounded and survived, many with profound and devastating disabilities.
“It’s a sobering and important thought for Memorial Day,” Sanders adds.
Additional movies dealing with the subject of war are Brothers, Stop Loss, and Redford’s 2007 Lions for Lambs.
Other great war films
Full Metal JacketSaving Private Ryan
M*A*S*H
Letters to Iwo Jima
Platoon
Apocalypse Now
Black Hawk Down
Patten
Bridge over the River Kwai
Glory
Dr. Strange Love
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