Comments on: Iraqi Movie, The Hurt Locker Is Generating Oscar Buzz: But Does It Deserve It?

By: Annie Ladysmith

Annie Ladysmith — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:32:51 +0000

This is a bad,bad war that is never going to end. The movie sounds like a bad, bad movie that if i sat and watched it, it also would never, never end.
How completely crass these Hollywood people are! Who in their right mind wants anything they’re selling? We don’t want it, but we get it shoved down our throats anyway. I’d like to shove my big, extra-large print KJV BIBLE down the throat of whoever produced that movie.

By: lichen

lichen — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:15:37 +0000

The soldiers are war criminal/serial killer scum, not “heroes.” I hadn’t heard of this movie, but it does sound disgusting. I don’t think fictional films are necessary, but the US getting the fuck out and all officials in the obama and bush administrations guilty of murdering Iraqi’s prosecuted.

By: Earl

Earl — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:37:19 +0000

I think Mr. Ramsey’s criticism is unduly harsh. He seems to hate this movie because he does not regard it as realistic and because he thinks it is a kind of recruiting film or that it glorifies war. It is worth remembering that as much as the war in Iraq was an act of foolishness by an incompetent administration, heroism is still present. Like it or not, war is an adrenaline rush that is not matched by anything in conventional experience. It is easy to see how the sheer thrill and challenge to quick thinking of bomb disposal could be addicting. The willingness of young men to go to war is a worthy subject of cinema. The Deer Hunter which was about that very subject was accused of all the same things, including being unrealistic as there was no Russian Roulette in Viet Nam, but what is war but a kind of game of Russian Roulette. As for the population of Iraq, the movie does a good job of portraying the difficulty of telling friend from foe when the enemy wears no colors and how both sides feared each other.

By: Rudra Banerji

Rudra Banerji — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:44:24 +0000

Wow. This is a cherry-pick of a review.

That said, I agree that people who are trying to cast this movie as “proof” of anything happening in Iraq is ridiculous. In general, any time someone grabs a PIECE OF FICTION and brandishes it as a justification or view of REAL EVENTS, I can only shake my head.

The film is a piece of entertainment. It deals with some things realistically, others – not so much.

I take issue with viewing Sgt. James as “typical” of such IED specialists as even the film, via its first scene, demonstrates another more calm, measured approach (albeit destructive to Iraqi infrastructure).

It’s a small film, basically a 3 character melodrama. Iraq is a setting in which to explore being in a dangerous situation ALL THE TIME, what that can mean and how it can become confusing with already confusing concepts of bravery, duty, chivalry, kindness and a whole mess of other things which are difficult to pull off on a day to day basis without worrying that strangers in a strange land are trying to kill you.

(if you can’t tell, i enjoyed it. It didn’t make me want to join up and it didn’t make me think the soldiers were heroes. It just made me think about myself in any of those circumstances. I wanted to care more and know more. Is that on purpose? I don’t know. But that’s what the film did for me. )