Public Service Announcement: The Best Film of the Year is on HBO
Filed under: Politics, War, Fan Rant
Sometimes cinemaniacs get rewarded for stepping outside the theater. Scott Weinberg, his tongue possibly in cheek, thinks a viral 4-minute internet video is the best movie of the year. I am convinced that the year's best fiction-on-film (so far -- though I have trouble imagining anything topping it) is currently airing on HBO. That would be Generation Kill, the seven-part, eight-hour Iraq War miniseries from David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire). I know, I know: this is Cinematical, not TV Squad. But Generation Kill is something no movie lover should ignore.Fans of The Wire already know of Simon and Burns's uncanny, unparalleled ability to weave together hyper-realism, trenchant commentary and riveting drama, but even they may be stunned, as I was, by what this smaller-scale project has to offer. It is, quite simply, the deepest and most sympathetic portrayal of the military -- any military -- I have ever seen. It may also be the first "Hollywood" take on the Iraq War that is genuinely thoughtful and de-politicized. Rather than offering a polemic, the series (adapted from a book by Evan Wright, a reporter who rode with the 1st Recon Marine Unit) just observes -- and, by all accounts, gets close to the truth.
It is also, and maybe more importantly, a dramatic tour de force. It focuses on a fairly large set of Marines in the 1st Recon Unit (as well as Wright himself, played by Lee Tergesen), but after six weeks, I feel like I know these guys. All are professionals; none match the liberal stereotype of the dim-witted, flagwaving military yokel. Some are thoughtful, well-intentioned and kind, while others are scary in their desire to kill -- to "get some." But I think I'm starting to understand even this latter type. There's an overpowering performance by Stark Sands, and a deeply moving one by Alexander Skarsgård. The series breaks my heart every week.
You can read Generation Kill in any number of ways, its only unequivocal "message" being that we were ill-prepared to invade Iraq -- something that few people of any political stripe contest these days. What I get out of it is what strikes me as the essence of "supporting the troops": sympathy and a level of understanding. It's challenging -- the writers don't bother to decipher Marine jargon or explain much of anything -- but lest I scare you off, it's also the fastest eight hours of the year: well-written, touching and funny.
The last episode airs Sunday night, but HBO is rerunning the series all over the place. Give it a chance; I can almost guarantee you'll want to watch the whole thing. It's incredible.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-23-2008 @ 5:13PM
Argent said...
it's a great mini, to be certain, but i don't even think it was the best mini-series shown on HBO this season ('john adams' was better.)
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8-25-2008 @ 3:07PM
patty said...
i am a huge fan of generation kill. i can't explain why i liked it i just do. i watch the repeats all the time.
i loved the characters like ray person (funniest freaking dude ever), brad "iceman" colbert ,nate fick, encino man,etc.
they all shine in their own way during the episodes.
Simply put it's really good show with a great cast and great storytelling.
it's a shame it's only 7 episodes.
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8-23-2008 @ 7:46PM
Jimmy said...
"...liberal stereotype of the dim-witted, flagwaving military yokel"???
Thank you for continuing a right wing stereotype of liberals' opinions of the military. Outside of far, far leftties no liberal thinks that (and even those far, far lefties are a small, small, small minority).
All that being said, yes, this is an excellent mini-series. In my opinion, it's great because it's an honest depiction of the military and the Iraq war (both the good and the bad). It's a shame that on a ratings front it hasn't more successful
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8-23-2008 @ 8:40PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
It's entertaining but we should never forget that in the end it's fiction. Yeah, I read the book the miniseries is based on and like the tv miniseries it's just one man's entertaining take on events.
It's fun. It's also fake - like all movies. If anything, it does get old after awhile as the types represented in the series, even if based on real humans, feel a little tired. I've enjoyed the series in spurts but overall I find there's nothing locking me to it. There's no real story and as mentioned the characters just aren't that absorbing. So while I'll laugh for 20 minutes, 40 minutes into an episode I find there's nothing emotionally or intellectually tethering me to the events of the episode.
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11-08-2008 @ 2:14PM
Semper_Fidelis said...
One thing I can assure is it's not fake. The book is a very real depiction of exactly what happened, there are one or two exaggerations but that's about it. And on set we had three Marines from 1st Recon who were military advisers and they were the actual Marines from Bravo!! I can also tell you that all the actors were in contact with the Marines they were playing and they played the characters as true to reality as they could. So please, please take my word as someone who played one of the Marines in Bravo, we tried to stay true to the real events and the Marines of Bravo who watched the series as well as the Marines at Pendleton gave their stamp of approval. That was what mattered to us. So once agin, let me assure you that the series is as true as can be!
8-23-2008 @ 8:44PM
theangiechrist said...
As a veteran and spouse of an OIF combat veteran, I can honestly say that this is the closest that Hollywood has ever come to the reality of what it means to be a soldier.
I love it. 'nuff said.
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8-23-2008 @ 8:59PM
Jason said...
Good mini series. The book is even better. I noticed in the credits last week it has an actor playing Eric Kocher, but Kocher was playing another character. I know Reyes is playing himself and there's a 3rd guy from Recon playing himself in the series too, but I can't remember who.
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8-23-2008 @ 9:02PM
scott said...
too bad this wasn't a "genuinely thoughtful and de-politicized" review.
do you really think that's what the liberal viewpoint of the military is? if so, you need to turn off the fox news for a bit and listen to what a liberal actually has to say, not what a conservative tells you a liberal will say.
the dim-witted flagwaving yokels in charge and on the radio deferred.
truly really an amazing show.
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8-23-2008 @ 10:32PM
flowers said...
A great show. But it does have political undertones. The fact of many poor decisions from upper personnel, under-equipped soldiers, bad military strategy, undertrained reservist, and the great subplot that the Marines knew things were fucked up by day three of the war.
Great Writing and excellent direction. The first episode is the weakest but by ep.2 things really begin to take off. Don't expect Band of Brothers. This is different and equally compelling.
Godfather says "Get Some!"
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8-24-2008 @ 6:35AM
monstermac said...
Fucking bullshit.
America has fallen far from what it has achieved in World War 2 - and what it has learned from the Vietnam War. Utterly pathetic. The golden, storied generations would spit on this mass psychological capitulation.
Semper Fi ! Oh, what I meant to say was... Sieg Heil !!!
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8-24-2008 @ 6:36AM
monstermac said...
You know what, we need more films that rightly portray the military bastards in Iraq as the shitbag monsters that they are - AND present them as that WITHOUT any smokescreen of hamfisted ' dignified sympathizing ', which only muddles the abysmal horror of them all - AND is much closer to the truth as it actually stands. Tell them who is the real offender, motherfucking dammit .
But very little of them can do that , huh ? They can't just show these fucks that they massacred an entire household in Hadditha or bombed a wedding or tortured Arabs in Abu Gharib, or make target practice out of Quiran, if not innocent Iraqui folks. But they're too chickenshits to do that. They have to present it like ' Oh, but our damn fine men and women in uniform are going through stuff. They've got PMS or something, they broke their nails, and it's all the raghead's fault. We shouldn't really go rag on all of them, coz they'd lose their fucking ' morale ' ? Give them their baby bottles before they cry ".
Now who is really shying from the awful damn truth ?!?!?
High school shooters don't get that level of mileage ( and SHOULDN'T ), so why should they ?
You see this retarded bullshit on Iron Man; you've been practically seeing all this weak-kneed, apologist crap ALL SUMMER, if not for the past few years. Better appease the criminal of the White House and his minions, and wallow in their ' good side ', instead of doing something about them.
' Liberal Hollywood '. Heh, fuck you can take it, pussy.
( Not to mention the simple, precise FACT that they invaded a sovereign country recognized by UN and international community, and are NOT sanctioned by the same UN and the international country )
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8-25-2008 @ 9:49AM
Kevin said...
Based on your logic it would also be okay to present every person from the middle east as terrorists and suicide bombers, right? I mean, some of them definitely are terrorists, and since a few of them are that makes them all criminals? Give me a break. There are definitely some American soldiers who have committed some terrible acts overseas, but that doesn't make each and every marine a murdering psychopath. A lot of the troops over there joined the military to serve their country, get money for college, etc. This attitude that you present is exactly the type of liberal bullshit that the author discusses in the article. I happen to be a liberal, and yet I cringe everytime I hear someone broadly categorize any American who owns a gun, drives a truck, or joins the military as idiots and neandrathals. Its just not accurate. Spend some time talking to people in the military, or even just some time talking to people who don't echo your own previously formed opinions and you might come away with a different viewpoint on the world.
8-24-2008 @ 3:13PM
Chris said...
Best Ever?
Sorry but "Band of Brothers" holds that title and I don't see it being de-throned any time soon.
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