War, international politics, personal ethics.

Despite the fact that the previews to this movie pretty much failed to significantly interest me, several friends gave it a strong recommendation, as did some reviews on web sites I frequent. Good thing. This one was worth seeing.

The opening scenes are deceptively light spirited, at least for a war movie. (Contrast a bunch of soldiers celebrating and partying after a cease fire has been declared to the first shots from Saving Private Ryan on the Normandy coast. Hah.)

What we see are a bunch of soldiers living it up; one making a bravado game of taking Iraqi POWs, another having a nice little fuck with one of the reporters, another giving orders like it's some kind of macho game. These aren't warriors at all. They're more like a bunch of guys goofing off. There's no moral purpose in any of it, and they seem to know it. There by circumstance, driven by necessity. So, when the opportunity presents itself, why not make off with few million in spoils no one important would miss anyway, and never have to work again?

So the oddly matched group set off on their little unofficial mission, led by George Cloony's character, Archie Gates, to retrieve the gold pointed to by the treasure map which was found hidden up an Iraqi soldier's ass. That particular element was far fetched at best, but sometimes, it pays to suspend disbelief and realize they needed to do something to set up the plot. Besides, it was kind of funny.

After the soldiers' rogue mission gets underway, the real meat of the movie happens. They find that there are indeed real people being hurt by this war, who have not only been screwed by Saddam Hussein's regime, but also by the U.S. government's reneged promises to help them in their struggle to overthrow the dictator. Inevitably, the opportunistic soldiers end up getting involved in the struggle of one Iraqi group's quest for freedom, and -- forgive the cliché -- become real men, real heros.

The storyline somewhat reminds me of Schindler's List, in that it involves a person or group of people who start out attempting to profit from war. After witnessing bitter atrocities and forming bonds beyond the casual, carefree relations of a shallow life, they come to realize there are things more important than personal riches.

While we're on the subject of comparing it to other movies, I will repeat what others have said and say the film bears similarities to Vietnam movies. In particular, the frequent facial closeups of hapless civilians ravaged by war echo similar techniques of what I remember from Apoolypse Now (saw it years ago, not recently). Those poor people. Those poor children. How could one not feel sympathy?

The camera shots feel very raw, very desolate, befitting the desert setting. While the camera action does get fancy at times, making use of some wacky rotation angles and perspective shots, the overall impression is that nothing here is being sugar coated. Ultimately, it's just a bunch of people out in the middle of a lonely, unfriendly nowhere.

The acting is indeed very good. It did take me a while to warm up to some of the characters, but by the end, their struggly was mine. What would you do when confronted with such a situation? I would say that the message conveyed here is that during the worst, most bizarre of times, human qualities of strength, loyalty, and courage emerge even in those who would otherwise be indifferent or selfish. I'd like to believe that's true.

Ebert's Info + Review