But that moment caught on film is the only one which actually exceeds the image and understanding provided through the book. In my opinion, the film needed Junger (or some voice actor, perhaps) to provide some sort of narration. It is Junger’s skilled narrative in WAR, after all, that makes it so enlightening and allows the reader to get into the frame of mind that it is to live the experience. The film hardly addresses, for instance, the absolutely incredible revelation about the high percentage of soldiers on psychotropic drugs to treat them for their combat stress WHILE STILL IN-COUNTRY AND PULLING TRIGGERS! The problem is so bad, according to Junger, that nearly a full 40% of the soldiers serving in the Korengal were thusly on medication! One soldier, who after only 4 months in country, concerned he was already so psychologically traumatized and stressed visited the battalion medical officer to see if he should be placed on drugs as well. The doctor informed the soldier that his symptoms didn’t yet reach the level that required prescription meds. Asking the doctor what he should do, the doc, incredibly, said “Do you smoke?” “No,” answered the trooper. “Perhaps you should start,” was the medical professional’s reply. It would seem that manpower demands on the U.S. military is so high, that traditional policies of removing psychologically afflicted soldiers from the line has been abandoned until further notice.

Narrated annotations of life for soldiers in the Korengal, such as that described above, would, I think, have added greatly to the ability of the film to bring the viewer closer to understanding the soldiers that are the documentary’s subject. And a bit of history could have been illuminating as to relations between the soldiers and locals. As simple, illiterate farmers with no radios or connection to the outside world, when the Americans first marched into the Korengal Valley, the locals thought they were Russians. No one living in the Korengal knew the Soviets had been gone for over a decade!!

Perhaps Mr. Junger was merely aware that his talent lays as a writer, and rather than trying to make the film tell the story that the book does, he aimed to just let the raw visuals speak their own language. While I value the film as a valuable adjunct to reading the book, I guess I was expecting that they would tell the same story. They don’t. The book takes you inside the grand picture. The book gives you the history, the analysis and perspective. The film only gives you the moments.

RESTREPO is only playing for a few more weeks in different places around the country. National Geographic bought the distribution rights during the Sundance Film Festival, and later this fall will play it on cable and satellite TV on the NatGeo Channel. So if you don’t get out to the theatre to see it, don’t fret. In fact, while the cameras used by Junger and Hetherington were light enough to hump up and down the mountainous terrain (as they certainly needed to be), they were not the best for taking pictures of enough resolution to make for good viewing on the big screen. But it will look good on your TV, which is where I recommend you view it. Just beware, however, if you have kids in the home, there is plenty of shocking language and blood and dead bodies. Whether NatGeo will leave all that intact when it airs is unknown, but if they do, this is not family viewing material,…unless your kids are recruitment age, of course.