You Don't Choose Your War

The War Tapes (5/5 stars)

This movie takes a very different and interesting angle on the Iraq war. Instead of making an editorial documentary for or against, cameras are given to various members of a New Hampshire National Guard unit for one year as they spend their time serving during the conflict. This provides us a uniquely real, raw and personal glimpse into the lives of those who are over their fighting, for an against. In addition to the footage made by the troops, interviews are conducted, both of the troops (interviewing each other) and their family members at home, during and after the war.

The story isn't intended to be a propaganda piece for either side, but we inevitably see the perspectives of both anyway. Since this is an examination of what it is really like to serve in Iraq, how it affects the people involved and their families, we get the soldiers' and their family members real opinions both positive and negative. It is a refreshing take on a much overdone subject matter where everyone has an opinion and wants to force it upon you.

The content the soldiers capture varies greatly. Sometimes we see them hanging around and joking together, sometimes we see them filming the most scary situations imaginable, sometimes we see them give their opinion about why they think they are there and whether they agree with it or not. In any case it feels like we are getting the real story for once, the soldiers speak with remarkable candor about everything, and this probably would not have been possible if the story was simply filmed by a documentarian interviewing people; here we get the story straight from the source, by the people who are being affected by the situation the most.

We also see the people change over time, the experience affects those involved dramatically, and they are changed people for it. Sometimes they need to reconcicle their mission and feelings about it with their reasons for joining up in the first place. Some feel like they have done the right thing, some are amazingly indifferent to their journey, some feel that they are proud of serving but the war was for the wrong reasons, some even feel a little bit of both. One soldier in particular agrees that the war was for oil but argues that it was still a good thing, despite the original reasons given for going in the first place.

In any case, due to the unique nature of the film, this is probably the most fascinating take on the subject yet. I would recommend it to anyone, regardless of your political beliefs.