THE HURT LOCKER

Pepe's View:

We saw this film at a World Cinema Club preview on Wed 17 Feb.  Directed by Katheryn Bigelow using lots of hand held camera shots, this movie, set in Iraq (Baghdad) one year after the initial invasion, is cleverly constructed and beautifully shot bringing out all the suspense, danger and futility that is war.  As the screen informs us at the beginning "War is a Drug" which could stand as the film's title since no other opening credits are shown.  Bigelow carefully and relentlessly shows us that this statement is true for the next 103 minutes.  Written by Mark Boal who was a journalist embedded with the troops in Iraq, the film shines with authenticity.

When the opening scene shows the leader of a bomb disposal squad attempting unsuccessfully to dispose of a bomb hidden amongst rubbish on the street, the scene is set for an emotional ride for the next 90 minutes.  His place is taken by a seemingly reckless cowboy (Jeremy Renner) who proceeds to put his own and his team mates lives at risk as they count down their days until their tour of duty ends.  As the film progresses however, we come to partially understand this new bomb squad leader and our opinion changes along with the opinions of his team mates.  The scene at the end of the film when he is shown shopping in a supermarket back home in USA trying to choose cereal from the huge display which stretches in both directions most poignantly indicates both the difficulty of a soldier returning to "real" life and helps us understand the drug that is war.

One interesting aspect of the film is that when the bomb disposal squad come across a squad of British soldiers in the desert, (the commander of which is played by Ralph Fiennes who is on screen for approx. 4 minutes), the emotional toll on the soldiers, when called upon to actually fire a gun to kill another human, being is very effectively although subtly shown.

I came away from this film with a new understanding of what it must really be like to be a soldier in a war without watching the usual gun battles, random explosions and heroics that accompany so many "war films".  This film is not about Iraq, although it is set in Iraq, it is about war in all its theatres and both the writer and director have resisted in taking sides or politicising the present conflict.  I could understand the suspicion that the soldiers felt towards all Iraqi citizens as they had no way of knowing which face in the crowd was potentially their friend or the next suicide bomber.

I enjoyed this film as I was able to watch it dispassionately on an intellectual level enjoying the suspense and the situation without becoming too involved with the characters - exactly what the director and writer intended I suspect.

Score:  7.5/10


Ma's View:

Absolutely agree with everything Pepe said but unfortunately, unlike him, I am unable to detach myself emotionally and can't help getting tense and overly involved with the characters!  Consequently, I did not enjoy the film at all even though I admit it was a good one, giving a depressingly accurate picture of the current situation in Iraq - one which will forever make the news reports of bombs more poignant and dramatic for me.

The other interesting aspect is the way the film reveals the different psychological states of the individual soldiers - the (at first) coolly efficient Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and James, his new daredevil group leader (Jeremy Renner) whom he struggles to keep safe but learns to respect and the young raw recruit who is scared "s..tless" and just doing his best to stay alive.  For James, the danger is addictive and he only feels really alive and turned on when he is leaning over a bomb trying to defuse it.  At home, he can't find meaning in the cosy domestic life with his wife and baby son and so inevitably signs up for yet another tour of duty.

A good movie, bring vividly to life an appalling situation and an incredible dangerous job performed by amazingly brave guys - but not a movie to be enjoyed by a big sook like me!

My score:  8/10 - for those who can take its (for me, 5/10)