It’s wonderful to hear that Hell And Back Again has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It is one of the most extraordinary films I’ve ever seen.
The film, shot by photojournalist Danfung Dennis while embedded deep behind enemy lines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines (2/8) in 2009, is an astonishing piece of work which will leave you exhausted and feeling like you’ve been to Hell and back again yourself upon its conclusion.
As regular readers of Light+Shade will know, this is a project I’ve been following from its beginnings. I first blogged on the film in October 2009, then under the working title of The Battle For Hearts And Minds. I was fascinated by the technical nature of the shoot, achieved entirely on a Canon 5D MkII. A subsequent post in February last year again mentioned Dennis in the context of DSLRs increasingly being the weapon of choice for video journalists in conflict zones, whether covering the Arab Spring or other trouble spots around the globe.
Having now seen Dennis’s movie, I wanted to make clear how brilliant it is. Without having seen the other documentaries nominated, I can’t imagine there is a more meaningful film in this list. It’s simply breathtaking, literally at times, and he should be enormously proud not only of his film making efforts, but the message this work carries.
When I first got wind that the movie was being made back in 2009, Dennis had his footage of life on the ground with the company. What I didn’t know then was how events in the latter stages of that embed would change the focus of the film. It was during the unit’s penultimate mission that one of its number, Sgt Nathan Harris, would be shot in a chaotic firefight and suffer a serious leg injury. Dennis decided to follow his rehabilitation and adjustment to civilian life upon their return, and so the movie’s main message was created – adjustment to such life for a US Marine and those around him is difficult at best, and in a sense entirely impossible.
The editing by Fiona Otway, nominated twice previously for Academy Awards, is pure genius. There are moments when Sgt Harris freezes, goes quiet, and battles what can only be the most gruesome memories of war. During these moments, the viewer is catapulted back to Dennis’s footage from the war zone, which relates directly back to his present day nightmares. Locations, simple actions like opening a door, are all treated in similar fashion. You feel at times you’re in his mind, and it’s tough but compelling viewing.
A number of things have stuck with me since watching the film. In particular, the hopeless nature of life in Afghanistan is all too clear. Marines in the unit do their best to help the locals remain clear of the Taliban and their brutal regime. But it’s the very presence of US forces that causes the Taliban uprisings in these remote areas, putting families directly in the line of fire. They fear for their children, who easily become sick through lack of food, which is damaged in spot fights that occur often, and their homes become too dangerous to inhabit as Marines order them clear when it becomes too dangerous to be there.
The Afghanis would rather the Marines left so the fighting stops, but at the same time welcome their deployment in the hope it relieves them of life under Taliban rule. It’s the classic Catch 22 for all concerned. Others hide Taliban fighters and refuse to impart information on injured escapees to the Marines hoping it puts them off and brings an end to the fighting, while still understanding their capture would be the better option. But the desire for a quick resolution and disappearance of the US forces is bizarrely more attractive.
The other remarkable thing is the illustration of Sgt Harris’s young wife, Ashley.
True love ... Sgt Nathan Harris and his wife Ashley.
The couple are in their mid-20s and have so many challenges as a result of the war. Sgt Harris is severely disabled and mentally scarred beyond belief, but he shows a bravery and humility in dealing with life after battle that makes clear how exceptional a soldier in battle he must have been. It’s no surprise he is in Echo Company, a unit that fought in World War II’s Battle of Guadalcanal and Battle of Okinawa, as well as reinforcing Guantamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisi of 1962.
He remains philosophical about his predicament to the point where it’s unbelievable at times. Despite the pain, the nightmares, the pressure on his marriage, he still wants to return to the job. Even knowing those days are now over, he rarely lets his frustrations get the better of him.
By the same token, Ashley must be among one of the strongest women on Earth. Her patience in the most trying of circumstances is equal to any saint. Without her, you can only wonder what fate might befall Sgt Harris. The love between the two of them is incredibly inspiring given the impossible circumstances of the life they now lead. It’s touching and beautiful, and all the more powerful when juxtaposed against the brutality of Sgt Harris’s experiences of war by Dennis. All the time I was watching them, I couldn’t help but think this is just story from one soldier from a war that has killed and wounded many thousands of others. The amount of families left to deal with the same or worse is so difficult to comprehend. The impact of the crisis is abundantly clear and frighteningly stark as the movie’s closing credits roll.
I must recommend that if you’re reading this post, you should find Hell And Back Again immediately and give it your full attention. But I warn you, it’s not for the faint-hearted. You won’t laugh, you’ll likely cry, but I guarantee it will change your views on many things, not least the merits of war.
Any work that highlights the catastrophic consequences of going to war in such an intimate and harrowing way can only be a good thing. I commend Dennis for his commitment to this story, his bravery and vision, and sympathetic shooting of a life so torn apart by war. And I wish Sgt Harris and Ashley all the best for a speedy return to some semblance of normality in their life, as I do to all those others suffering from the cruel fate conflict deals, wherever they are in the world.
