The official Sebastian Junger community

Reviews

"The battle-hardened approach to depicting the current conflicts has shown up in features, on television and in other documentaries: “The Hurt Locker,” a feature film about a bomb-disposal unit in Iraq that won the best picture Oscar this year; “Generation Kill,” a 2008 HBO mini-series by David Simon and Ed Burns; and “Gunner Palace,” a 2005 documentary about an artillery unit in Iraq. But “Restrepo” (pronounced res-TREP-o) may be the most frightening among them because the soldiers are so clearly on their own, isolated and often beyond the reach of the technological might of the United States military. Once viewers adjust to seeing life from inside a helmet, they could not be blamed for wondering how Mr. Hetherington and Mr. Junger survived. Suffice to say that both men, who each did assignments for Vanity Fair magazine while working on the film, still bear marks from their time alongside the soldiers in the Second Platoon."

David Carr, New York Times, June 16th

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/movies/20restrepo.html

"Movies like The Hurt Locker are affecting narratives of war, but they don’t come close to the raw reality seen in the gripping and haunting new documentary Restrepo (in select theaters 6/25). Made by journalists Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger and awarded a top prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Restrepo chronicles the deployment of a company of soldiers in Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan—considered to be one of the most dangerous zones in the country (and named “Restrepo” after a beloved medic killed in the line of duty). Unlike other documentaries, this movie doesn’t rely on expert talking heads that expound on the history or causes for battle. Rather, it takes you right (and we mean right) alongside the soldiers—the constant threat of attack (and then just constant attack), the loneliness and the trauma you can see on their young faces. As the filmmakers themselves say, “Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one’s political beliefs. Beliefs can be a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality."

Very Short List, June 18th

http://www.veryshortlist.com/vsl/daily.cfm/review/1586/Current_cinema/this-is-war/?tp

Reviews

Sebastian supports Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors

Sebastian supports Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America