Restrepo and The Battle of Algiers

[marct]

Hi Mike,

Well, I haven't seen the movie, but one thing you said really stood out for me

There is no such thing as a neutral narrative.

Yup. Not only that, I am increasingly persuaded that a "neutral narrative" is impossible because of the way our (HSS) brains work. I do, however, see some potential from another quirk of our brains - the ability to hold mutually opposing and contradictory narratives so, even if we can't create a "neutral narrative", we may be able to create multiple narratives that can act as triangulation points towards a larger vision (as opposed to neutrality).

[Bob's World]

"Neutrality" is inherently dishonest, and makes everyone equally nervous of what ones true intentions might be.

If you don't believe me, next time your wife asks you what you want for dinner just say "I don't care." You think you just made things simple for her, in fact you created complexity and hard feelings.

[marct]

Hi Bob,

"Neutrality" is inherently dishonest, and makes everyone equally nervous of what ones true intentions might be.

If you don't believe me, next time your wife asks you what you want for dinner just say "I don't care." You think you just made things simple for her, in fact you created complexity and hard feelings.

LOLOL - Too true! Hades, you might end up with rat brains sauteed with cockroaches!

Far better to state your biases and build a narrative around that......

[Steve Blair]

If you don't believe me, next time your wife asks you what you want for dinner just say "I don't care." You think you just made things simple for her, in fact you created complexity and hard feelings.

Being the cook in the house, I can testify to the truth of Bob's statement.

[sabers8th]

Mike,
I did see the movie here in Fayettenam when it came out. A good film but at the end of it I was like was that it? Seriously for 15 months of filming I think they could have gotten more out of it. The film does bring to the forefront even more the subject of PTSD. the one question that sticks out in my is when the camera man asks the one SPC "What are you going to to do when you get back after going through this?" (paraphrase) That is the million dollar question that they didnt answer.

Kelly

[MikeF]

Mike,
I did see the movie here in Fayettenam when it came out. A good film but at the end of it I was like was that it? Seriously for 15 months of filming I think they could have gotten more out of it. The film does bring to the forefront even more the subject of PTSD. the one question that sticks out in my is when the camera man asks the one SPC "What are you going to to do when you get back after going through this?" (paraphrase) That is the million dollar question that they didnt answer.

Kelly

Hi Kelly.

I had a similar reaction. Half way through the movie, I distinctly remember feeling underwhelmed; however, many of my civilian friends that have seen it were blown away. That's why I want to do a point-counterpoint review so that all of us can get a better perspective given two completely different points of view.

Mike

[Backwards Observer]

"Neutrality" is inherently dishonest, and makes everyone equally nervous of what ones true intentions might be.

If you don't believe me, next time your wife asks you what you want for dinner just say "I don't care." You think you just made things simple for her, in fact you created complexity and hard feelings.

A girl sat me down once for a talk about the direction she thought the relationship should go and some of things she wanted to happen. I listened and said it all sounded fine or within the bounds of possibility given where things were headed.

She then asked if there was anything I wanted to say about the future of the relationship. I said, "Don't get fat." You'd be surprised how well this was not taken.

(Sorry, I haven't seen Restrepo, either.)

[John T. Fishel]

I had to look up Restrepo to have any idea of what you were talking about.

As far as Battle of Algiers is concerned, don't make the mistake that any of the film makers sought neutrality. Saadi Yacef - who wrote the orignial story & starred in it - was playing himself almost without amplification. Gillo Pontecorvo, the Director, was a committed Italian communist and anti-colonialist. The film is very, very pro Algerian independence and anti-French colonialism. It is, however, honest in its portrayal of the players and treats each of the human beings involved with sympathy.

Cheers

JohnT

[jmm99]

except I would have had to look up the names, etc., for the Battle of Algiers.

For a communist (small "c") film, it has much less agitprop than one would have expected - and, of course, the Algerian insurgency was not Marxist in ideology (though it used many of the then common tactics used by Marxist insurgentsl), many French officers to the contrary.

See, Mike, great minds run in the same channels - and are sometimes joined by rugby players from That Place on the Hudson.

Cheers

Mike

[tequila]

Liked it quite a bit, but was also somewhat underwhelmed compared to the overall rapturous reviews:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/restrepo/

Another excellent film which I actually liked more and which felt more visceral was an A&E film called Combat Diary: Marines of Lima Company about Lima 3/25 in Iraq in 2005. Most of the footage in that was actually shot by the Marines themselves rather than an embedded journalist.

[MikeF]

See, Mike, great minds run in the same channels - and are sometimes joined by rugby players from That Place on the Hudson.

The key is sometimes. What's that saying? A broke clock is right twice a day .

John T Fishel is right on that Battle for Algiers is not neutral. Restrepo is supposed to be, but what is left out takes so much away from the story. The biggest thing is that they talk about how important OP Restrepo is, yet, they never explained why it is important and to what value. That's just a disservice in my book.

I watched the movie with my old JTAC (Joint Tactical Air Controller) who had also served in the Korengal in 2005 with the Marines so he was able to fill me in on some of the rest of the story.

[CloseDanger]

I thought his take was interesting: http://freerangeinternational.com/blog/?p=3356