A soldier documents his tour of duty with a camcorder while serving in Iraq. He introduces us to the daily routine of maintaining a military security checkpoint, avoiding IEDs, the four comrades in his squad, and the amoral callousness that a couple of those squad members come to embrace.
The story seems to have been not-so-loosely based on the real life 2006 incident perpetrated by Specialist James Barker, Private Jesse Spielman, Private Bryan Howard, Sergeant Paul Cortez and former Private Stephen Green; US soldiers guilty of premeditated murder over the rape and killing of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, her parents and her five-year-old sister. Her body was set afire by the soldiers after her assault in an effort to destroy the evidence. It was a guilt-ridden fellow soldier who exposed the matter.
Because I don't believe IMDb.com to be the proper forum to discuss political beliefs, I will only speak to the quality of the film. Personally, I grow tired of the first-person-shooter film making approach. However, De Palma manages to present the style in an effective and believable manner. He manages this by not solely relying on a single camcorder to tell the story. The story itself, as unpleasant as it is, is powerful and believable. One merely needs to surf Iraq war clips on youtube.com to get a flavor for the attitude U.S. soldiers have towards the Iraqi people. Of course, after losing friends and comrades to IEDs and the like, it is not surprising that such a bitter prejudice exists.
One comment I feel compelled to make is that several folks who have commented on this film have suggested that it is unrealistic. Having served in a forward infantry unit, just like the film Jarhead, I found the behaviors and personalities portrayed in Redacted to be very realistic... hauntingly so.
The story seems to have been not-so-loosely based on the real life 2006 incident perpetrated by Specialist James Barker, Private Jesse Spielman, Private Bryan Howard, Sergeant Paul Cortez and former Private Stephen Green; US soldiers guilty of premeditated murder over the rape and killing of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, her parents and her five-year-old sister. Her body was set afire by the soldiers after her assault in an effort to destroy the evidence. It was a guilt-ridden fellow soldier who exposed the matter.
Because I don't believe IMDb.com to be the proper forum to discuss political beliefs, I will only speak to the quality of the film. Personally, I grow tired of the first-person-shooter film making approach. However, De Palma manages to present the style in an effective and believable manner. He manages this by not solely relying on a single camcorder to tell the story. The story itself, as unpleasant as it is, is powerful and believable. One merely needs to surf Iraq war clips on youtube.com to get a flavor for the attitude U.S. soldiers have towards the Iraqi people. Of course, after losing friends and comrades to IEDs and the like, it is not surprising that such a bitter prejudice exists.
One comment I feel compelled to make is that several folks who have commented on this film have suggested that it is unrealistic. Having served in a forward infantry unit, just like the film Jarhead, I found the behaviors and personalities portrayed in Redacted to be very realistic... hauntingly so.