Came across this title after looking up an old Italian satire "War Ialian Style," which was a swan song of sorts for Buster Keaton. As you appear to be associated with this film, Mr. Mattikow, I'll reserve judgment until I see it. I'm sure the human drama, as described in the long write up on the IMDb site, will prove to be worthwhile.
I have to bring up the comparison with "84 Charlie Mopic," however. I saw that one on PBS back in the mid-90s, and was rather caught up with the hand-held camera cinematography, the spontaneous drama of the seeming "interviews," and other apsects of the film. Impressed the snot out of me. I made the mistake of viewing it just a few years ago with a former Special Forces major with whom I have had the honor to do some tactical training. I'm not military, but he served in Vietnam. Long story. I'll save it for some other time.
I'm afraid that even with my limited training with this gentleman I was catching serious, serious errors on the part of the supposedly seasoned Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRP or Lurps in the parlance)troops. I won't even go into how my friend raked it over the coals. There is much about the film that still appeals to me, and the frenetic "you are there" style is still exciting to me. The opening sequence of "Saving Private Ryan" and the climactic street fighting in "Children of Men" seem to have grown out of that style and experience. Anyway, I guess one has to suspend disbelief sometimes for the sake of a good ripping yarn, but it pays to be aware of the details when making a film like that.
Anyway, I'll study the listings here some more. "The Fallen" sounds interesting, and it sounds like availability is opening up.
"I'm not from here, I just live here. . ."
-James Mc Murtry
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