Sidestepping political debate for on-the-ground reality, Restrepo tags along with an army platoon as they travel in May 2007 to East Afghanistan’s treacherous Korengal Valley to secure the creation of a road that will provide greater transport of supplies to the mountainous region’s locales. Directed by Tim Hetherington and The Perfect Storm author Sebastian Junger, it’s an experiential 15-month portrait fixated on day-to-day operations and routines, offering a snapshot of military combat, strategy and downtime energized by an up-close-and-personal immediacy. Supplementing its footage with after-the-tour interviews, the film establishes an intimate, immersive grunt-POV that provides a non-judgmental view of both the brotherhood (and tumultuous emotional states) of soldiers and the myriad geographical, cultural and logistical complications of the ongoing Afghanistan campaign. Its title the name of a fallen comrade as well as the tactical base camp the squad establishes in the area, the unvarnished doc captures the complex human face of modern warfare.
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