The best way to clear a bomb, after which you remain alive
What can I say? I watched this movie for the first time, when Oscar didn’t smell like it, somewhere in January. Then I didn’t really like it, somehow not as it seemed, and in general, there was a feeling that this is another movie praise of the American army, and so on. I thought that such films, and much more than interesting themes than sapper movies, I watched, and so with a light heart let this film go. But then came March 8, and this film was awarded 6 statuettes, including, in my opinion, the three most important: best film, best director and best script. But naturally, at first, I was indignant how such a pathetic film could be given an Oscar, and even for some meaningless script. I was so wrong. The film is certainly worthy of all its Oscars and turned out to be the most relevant film of 2009, even though it is military.
Members of an elite demining squad have been deployed to an Iraqi city where virtually every item poses a deadly threat. James is a bomb sapper who, despite the danger, treats bomb disposal as a game.
War is his true passion. That’s why there are disagreements in his squad.
"Well, the first thing I'll start with is the best thing about this movie, which is the script." Although I initially didn’t like it, as well as the idea itself, I still have to admit that it is excellent here. Of course, my opinion will still remain with me, and I will consider the best script of the film “I would like to sky”, but the second place will definitely take “the Lord of the storm”.
The film was shot without the slightest bit of pathos. There is no praise for all the well-deserved and undeserved titles of the American Army. There is nothing to say about it here. By the way, Kathryn Bigelow very successfully took the material for her film, in the sense that sappers are not soldiers, their business is dark. They don’t have battle scenes like soldiers. They have laborious work that often goes unnoticed. They are the ghosts of war. They are the same suicide bombers, only on the other side of the storm.
And the film just shows the fate of one of these suicide bombers - William James. He's a born warrior. War for him, as the opening epigraph of the film says, is a drug. It’s the only way he feels at his plate. Again, this is one of the advantages of the script, that all the inner experiences of this hero are very reliably shown. Although this is a great merit of Jeremy Renner, who does not understand why he was not given an Oscar for Best Actor. So reliably to play a fighter even Tom Hanks in the movie “Saving Private Ryan” failed. He showed that at least in appearance his hero is strong, powerful, we will not win, fearless, but in his heart he is weak, as any of us can be when he finds himself in such an extreme situation. He's the same man, only in the sparkling armor of his dark green sapper suit. Just like he was a military junkie, he stayed there for life. Even if the war is over, it will always be in his soul, in his heart, it is more precious to him than all the joys of life.
Although it may be such a revelation Bigelow and in vain showed on the screen (perhaps because of this the film was long banned for screening), but it was necessary for someone to do, because there are people who live in war, they can not breathe anywhere except on the battlefield. Maybe it's because with every bomb, if you look at the sapper, they save a lot of innocent lives, and it makes them feel good.
But the film shows not only the fate of the main character, after all, he still has two partners who are just warriors. One is JT Sunborn, the other is Owen Eldridge. And with them, the metamorphosis happened much more interesting than with the main character. Each of them radically changed the outlook on life. Although it is shown with the help of symbolism, it is obvious. Sanborn became a more life-loving man and Eldridge an adult. If you look at what they were like at the beginning of the film and at the end, they are completely different people. This shows that war greatly changes people, except those who live it.
But the film would be clearly incomplete if not for several key episodes. The first is Owen Eldridge's shot at an action movie with a machine gun under the brilliant soundtrack to this film. Right away, you could see Eldridge growing up. The second is James's pre-final monologue on the meaning of human life. Although such moments always disgust me, I must admit that in this particular case I watched with my mouth open. And of course, Sanborn said, "I want a baby." It would seem that there is nothing in them, but they say everything, the whole essence of his hero. The final entity.
The film is great. Very relevant, although a little at the end somehow suggested it, but the finale returned everything to its place. He showed that James had a strong sense of nostalgia for war, and there was a glare in his eyes as he walked toward another bomb. The film deserves all of its Oscars, even though I like Inglourious Basterds better. It is more serious, semantic, although many people mistakenly believe that the meaning of the whole film lies only in the phrase: "War is a drug." Original
