This is where you get your say about "Afghanistan: The Surge." A few simple rules: Keep your comments civil. No obscenity (kids read this site). And no personal attacks on anyone except me. If you just stumbled onto this blog you can find out more about the documentary at
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This from Cathy Warwick, a Marine mom:
ReplyDeleteHow do I say this without it coming across as an insult? The docu was great, very informative, but I would warn MoMs away from it till your kid EAS's. It just gave me too much of what I thought I wanted to see, how they are affected by their experiences. I guess its one thing when they are interviewed here, but entirely different when made to contemplate what they just went through moments before. I watched it last night and my heart is still reeling (and i've watched every documentary on afcrapistan i've been able to find and while those too were hard to watch, this was a million fold)
From: Cindy Gambrell
ReplyDeleteI finally got to watch it with my son. He was literally on the edge of his seat, chain-smoking. (a habit he picked up after the second IED) He loved it from beginning to end, and is eternally grateful to have it. From my point of view, of course you wonder what your child really went through when he was deployed, and this answered that curiosity. I thought it was well put together, and enjoyed the angle of the personal stories of Kesterson and the Chief, especially. My son talked about the Chief all the time, and how he helped him in many ways, and what an influence he was.. I can see why! He's rather larger than life. Thank you for bringing it to us. We will cherish it. I hope it performs beyond all your expectations.
I appreciated "The Surge" greatly for the thoughtful comments of the troops and the steady camera work. I think the steady camera really enhanced the experience. We are often subjected to shakeycam in combat videos and, of course, tripod and dolly shots with high key lighting on television.
ReplyDeleteThis combination worked for "The Surge" because the documentary is professional but the emotions and reactions on camera are real and unscripted. Everything was real, not a Hollywood set.
Some of the reactions of the U.S. Marines when faced with civilian casualties reminded me of the ambush scene in "The Anderson Platoon" by Pierre Schoendoerffer. That 1967 documentary was one of the first Vietnam films I viewed after returning home from nearly two and a half years in Vietnam. I was surprised how Schoendoerffer was able to really tell the daily saga of a U.S. infantry unit.
Robert Hodierne and Rob Curtis were able to accomplish the same with the Marines of A-1-1 because of their professionalism. Hodierne had years of combat experience in Vietnam and Curtis had the steady cinematography down pat.
Like the "observational" films of Frederick Wiseman, "The Surge" represents a long-term committment by Hodierne and Curtis to capture unscripted and unmanipulated moments of highly credible characters who are given more depth as the documentary unfolds.
There is also a "Band of Brothers" theme developed as the Marines interact over the months and feel frustration in their roles in Afghanistan.
Officers, including one wearing silver insignia, try to put a smiley face on their role during the surge but this does not match the concerns of the sergeants and privates.
Hodierne has produced and directed an important historical benchmark during the long-running war which has developed many twists and turns. The overall strategy might be flawed, but to be an observer of the young men of one combat unit has great value in attempting to understand the war.
I have recommended "The Surge" to my current and past journalism students so they might get a sense of the experience of being embedded as a journalist with a combat unit.
I just want to say thanks Robert for making this movie. I was one of the mortar man from Alpha Company in fact we stayed together in the same living area. You are a brave man for stepping with us to the battlefield.
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