Double Feature. The Hurt Locker & Brothers At War

After my husband's cousin, Private First Class Paul O. Cuzzupe II, an Army medic in the war in Afghanistan had died during combat operations, it made me wonder.  I had nearly no knowledge about what our soldiers go through.  I was just a typical ignorant American citizen that had only the miniscule amount of knowledge they show on TV or in movies.  I really never could get into watching war movies because it was really never my thing (or maybe it is because my father used to watch a lot of black and white war movies on our TV when I was younger).

My father was a veteran of the Korean War as a medic and my husband was in Civil Air Patrol before I met him.  I have dated men in the Armed Forces from all branches, but never really asked any of them questions about what they do or what they have done.  I always thought it was a taboo subject to ask, that it would make rake up bad memories, so I kept ignorant and silent.  Still, my need for knowledge about what goes on began to stir after the military funeral for Paul. 

My only way I knew how to get my questions answered without asking them was to look at any movies and/or documentaries in hopes that may satisfy my curiosity.

The Hurt Locker was the first choice.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

2008
Rated R
130 minutes

Summary from IMDB: Iraq. Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.

My rating: ★★★.5 out of 5

"War is a drug."

I thought this was a good movie for a war movie.  It kept me wanting to see it til the end, it was beautifully filmed, and the actors were very good.  It gave me a really good idea about what our soldiers are going through on the other side of the world, both in the past and right now.

The thing is, it wasn't a great war picture.  It left me feeling like I needed to see more movies in order to get a better perspective.  I still wasn't satisfied with knowing what my gut wanted to know.

Then I found Brothers At War...

Director: Jake Rademacher
2009
Rated R
110 minutes

Summary from Netflix: Filmmaker Jake Rademacher takes an unconventional approach to family bonding when he travels to Iraq to embed in four combat units, hoping to gain a greater understanding of the war -- and of his two brothers who are serving there. Rademacher witnesses machine gun battles and perilous reconnaissance missions, but he also gets a closer look at the sacrifices his brothers have made -- and their undying commitment to winning the fight.

My rating: ★★★★ out of 5

For a person who has never experienced war, who has never had to put on a solider uniform and be on active duty, this was a documentary to open my eyes and give me insight.  I finally got to find a bit of understanding in what these men and women go through.  I was able to learn that it wasn't all "shoot 'em up bang bang" all the time (like the movies make it out to be) and that there are some assignments that are more boring then a desk job.

I love that this was not a political film and there was no spin on it at all in one direction or another.  It was made from the heart, like more documentaries should be made.
What absolutely amazed me is with the extras of this DVD, I found out that Gary Sinise sponsored this film and helped promote it.  Many kudos to him for doing so.  It is a remarkable documentary.

After seeing Brothers At War, I think I have relatively satisfied my curiosity for now.  There are a couple more war movies I'd like to see, but this documentary really cleared a lot up that I had ever wondered about.