Restrepo

The filmmakers who bring us this documentary spent a year with a platoon in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan in 2007. This valley was considered of utmost strategic importance and a rugged and deadly place. Early in the deployment, the platoon pushes from the main outpost in the valley (The KOP or Korengal Outpost) up to the top of a nearby hill to set up another outpost. This new post, Outpost Restrepo, in named in memory of Doc Restrepo, a platoon member who was killed in battle during the first month of deployment. The film is the story of the creation and defense of O.P. Restrepo, using footage from the year deployment intermixed with interviews with the soldiers after they have left Afghanistan. This is a powerful film in that it gives a first hand look at what is involved in war. It attempts to be neutral in presentation, and I am sure that viewers from all perspectives will see examples of actions that support their particular point of view. Here is what I saw...

War is about power, even on an individual level. The platoon captain held weekly meetings with local elders to improve community relations. The plan for the valley was to provide jobs to locals by building and improving a road through the valley. The army persistently talked about this road, but it never got traction with the residents. In spite of all the community meetings and discussions about working together, when push came to shove, the soldiers had the power. When the elders came to ask for reparations for a killed cow or to inquire about a missing community member, the captain pulled out his "you're not going to get what you want-next question" card. In war, when an impasse occurs, the powerful win and the less powerful lose. There is really no ability to think about a win-win scenario.

War changes the powerful. Watching this platoon over the course of the year in an extremely hostile environment, we could see the change. Increasingly, anger led to desire for retribution, which never resulted in abatement of the anger. What I wonder now, is how does this war fought far away by people I don't know affect our culture as a nation. Are we also changed, finding a new relationship with anger and retribution, failing to believe that win-win is possible? Am I personally changed by knowing that I am part of the war?

See this film. What do you see?
5 stars (out of 5)