Action

MOVIE REVIEW . Jarhead

Sam Mendes is a big meanie. Or else he just knows how to make actors cry. He even made sullenly stoic Peter Saarsgard bawl in Jarhead, the most accurate modern war adaptation since Thin Red Line. I say its accurate because war is not all about action and heroism. Many soldiers of past and present will admit that the eternal fear, the lamentation, the confusion of defying the Fifth (Catholicism’s Sixth) Holy Commandment cannot be supplanted by red white and blue parades or shiny medal pins or even blind patriotism. Most soldiers began as teenagers, mostly in poor subdivisions, conned by cunning recruiters, who wanted to learn skills for a job or earn money for college. They were ill prepared at best for battle. Some were snotty punk kids with no real future anyway –too obstinate, too unorganized, too clueless. Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) seems to be one of those types of kids.

Son of a veteran father and neurotic mother, brother to an asylum patient, he clawed his way up through USMC boot camp (where, let’s just say he forcibly licked more than boots), Swofford explains the foibles of counteracting too much testosterone. Although he’s a token “rebel without a cause” anti-hero, he’s promoted to STA (Surveillance and Target Acquisition) scout/sniper. He’s placed under the watchful eye of Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx), a man who’s portrayed in subtle sweeps (mispronouncing Nobel Prize winning author Albert Camus “kay-moss” instead of the correct “kah-moo”) and blunt bearings (berating the corpse of a cadet accidentally killed during live-round training). Even though Sykes is a man of necessary sadism and punishment, he’s that almost pleasant father figure Swofford desperately needs and wants.

Then the unthinkable happens. Operation Desert Storm. Syke’s company is shipped out to Iraq in 1991, among the first 5,000 soldiers predisposed to “kick Iraqi butt”. In less than six months, over 470,000 joined them, sent and ordered to protect US Saudi oil reserves. Like previous Gulf War depiction Three Kings, we are broadsided with images of troops playing football, sweatily stripping down and moonshine party-hardying. Taxpayers should’ve revolted, but the media wasn’t allowed such images, even supposedly recording almost scripted speeches disguised as soldier accounts. And because there were more and more troops sent to play football in the desert on our dime, civilians also felt the heat. Gas prices soared (and continue to at the writing of this review as Bush Jr. continues daddy’s deeds) while people couldn’t make heads or tails of the obvious cover-up. Remember the Soviet spy-satellite photos that proved the impending Iraq threat was just a hoax? Probably not because it was heavily censored and hidden. As a result, Bush Sr’s popularity flourished like a rockstar’s.

Meanwhile, the nearly half million bored, confused and frustrated soldiers felt neglected by the government. They were provided broken equipment, jammed firearms and untested medication. Also, due to rushed training, faulty radios and heavy artillery wielded by the trigger happy and the spooked, accidents were abound. Friendly fire* accounted for approx 1/4 of total Gulf War tragedies (in the current Iraq War, the 2000th US soldier passed away from a friendly fire wound infection). The Gulf War was just as confusing for the families and loved ones left behind as well. Impatience destroyed fidelity. Affected soldiers soon constructed a “Wall of Shame”, scribbling rude captions on once cherished photos.

Anthony Swofford endured a lot of criticism, making it a hard-sell, but I think what he was trying to depict was that the war in the Middle East is beyond messy. Quite literally, when the cinematography deals us a wayward yet tame horse lost in the midst of burning oil field metaphorically meeting up with Swofford, the pair are slick with black fossil fuel– the substance countries are willing to kill for. Other visual gems include projectile vomiting and a charred death march, both chilling and honest. Sam Mendes (who also directed the sardonic American Beauty) simply wants to tell it like it is, even if it’s not of popular opinion.

Today thousands of troops are back in the desert, (possibly) losing lives for oil and corporate wallets. Let’s hope they can come home soon.

* Gulf War friendly fire stats [source BBC News]:

It has emerged that “friendly fire” killed more British troops than the Iraqis did - of 16 British soldiers who died, nine were killed by Americans. Of 148 Americans who died, 35 were killed by friendly fire. Iraqi deaths are estimated at 50,000, with 100,000 wounded.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant. Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.

Related Articles:

• MOVIE REVIEW [SCREENER] . Flags of Our Fathers