The Hurt Locker
Alfred Hitchcock reportedly once said, "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." "The Hurt Locker" is totally built on that premise.
Jeremy Renner plays Staff Sgt. William James, a bomb tech or EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) expert in Iraq in 2004. It's his job to defuse or detonate roadside bombs. The risks are already enormous, but James takes fearlessness to a whole new level. This is either the craziest or the most supremely confident guy ever.
The movie asks us to believe that such a free spirit could operate within the confines of the U.S. Army and in a deadly serious war zone. But once you buy into that, the film becomes an incredible steamroller of suspense.
Any war movie makes an attempt to put you in the middle of the action. With handheld camera and a searing documentary feel, this picture conjures up a sense of panic better than any I've seen. And it doesn't let up, not with defusing bombs, getting caught in a desert ambush or tracking down insurgents in the dark streets of Baghdad.
Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal have crafted a superb thriller that evolves into a character study of how human beings respond when called on to perform superhuman feats. James' ability to take fear out of the equation is stunning to behold. By contrast, Spec. Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) struggles every single day under the immense pressure. Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), the commander of the small unit, is a mixed bag of leadership and vulnerability.
"The Hurt Locker" puts us squarely in the heart of the danger and shows the toll it takes on those who serve in uniform. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is mesmerizing. This picture and Renner's performance are the stuff of Oscar nominations.
Waltz with Bashir
The 2008 Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner for best foreign language film, "Waltz with Bashir," was recently released on DVD. It's an animated movie, which is amazing when you consider that it's also a documentary -
and it's about war, in this case the Israeli/Lebanon conflict in the early 1980s.
The film interviews actual soldiers, slowly peeling away the layers of memories, to uncover images of war, some bloody, some jarringly frivolous, some strangely poetic and beautiful. It begins with one soldier's recurring nightmare that triggers a bizarre memory of raids on suspected terrorist hideouts. But it's all he can remember.
Director Ari Folman takes up the search for other recollections of the war after he too experiences amnesia about his own military service. From the accounts of veterans, he pieces together a collage of mindless acts of violence, heroism and survival. It culminates in the massacre of civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Because this is a movie about dredging up suppressed memories and dreams, it has a soft, dreamlike and hypnotic quality to it, even more jarring because of the backdrop of war. The animation is captivating, even as we are drawn deeper into the terror.
Folman draws on his own experiences, as well as those of fellow soldiers, to create a totally original and engrossing film record of another chapter in the world's sad history with war.
Pathways to Peace
Two film documentaries, both with a peace theme, will be shown in the theatre of the Lexington Public Library (downtown branch, 140 E. Main St.) during the first weekend of October as part of the Franciscan Peace Center's "Pathways to Peace" event. The film showings are free and open to the public.
"Pray the Devil Back to Hell," a feature film, will be shown at 7 p.m., Oct. 2, followed by a reception in the library's art gallery. At 2 p.m., Oct. 4, the PBS documentary "Beyond our Differences" will be presented. A reception follows the film and the Rev. Bob Silvanik, minister of the North Middletown Christian Church in Bourbon County, will lead a discussion on "Creating a Spiritual Path to Peace."
"Pray the Devil Back to Hell" tells the story of how thousands of women in Liberia helped peacefully force the end of the reign of the dictator Charles Taylor in the late 1990s. Their work culminated in the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as Africa's first elected female head of state and proved that nonviolent and peaceful protest can succeed.
"Beyond Our Differences"
shows how people of different faiths can work together to solve critical global problems. The film follows several modern-day visionaries with the courage to promote social change.
Other events have been scheduled during the four-day peace fest. For more information, check the Web site www.franciscanvision.org, or call (859) 230-1986. All events are free and open to the public. In addition to the Franciscan Peace Center, "Pathways to Peace" is being sponsored by the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, One World Film Festival, the Newman Foundation and the Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass.