Jarhead – DVD – Universal
“Every war is the same. Every war is the same.”
Nearly 15 years later and Hollywood is finally giving Operation Desert-Storm its place on the big screen, and on March 7, 2006 on home DVD players. This film from Universal, starring Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal, is based on former Marine Anthony Swofford’s memoir by the same name.
This film follows a naïve young recruit through the trials and tribulations of boot camp (think Full Metal Jacket but with Jamie Foxx instead of R. Lee Ermey), on to the boredom, uncertainty and fear of combat in the desert. This film at its heart is about the soldiers, the young men and women who spent day after day in the desert awaiting the “mother of all battles”. While this film is certainly only based upon one soldier’s memoirs and experiences, and therefore should be viewed with that in mind, I feel that there are still many things to be seen that apply to the all of our modern war fighters.
However, the casual viewer may find themselves fighting boredom at times. As designed, the action is rare, seemingly designed to immerse the viewer in the futility of waiting along with the soldiers. Those who aren’t military buffs or those looking for an action packed shooter need to look elsewhere as this movie may disappoint.
This film does a good job of depicting the many unique factors that face our modern military. We follow Swofford (Gyllenhaal) as he is transformed from a raw recruit into a trained, technically proficient killer and prepped for war. We then witness the toll, both physical and mental that is taken on Swofford and his fellow warriors. Primed and ready to go, they are suddenly faced with the uncertainty of waiting for an order that may not come, the order to put their training to use on the fields of combat. The soldiers have nothing other then themselves and their love and concern for one another to keep them going. They are far from home, awaiting uncertain orders, facing the possibility of chemical weapons and in some cases defending a cause they don’t fully comprehend. It is important that the viewer take this cynical perspective into account, because surely this was not the experience of all the troops.
The soldiers in the movie struggle to find their own identity and understand how they are viewed by the military hierarchy and the civilians at home. At one point, when Vietnam-era music is played by coalition troops we hear: "This is Vietnam music. Can't we even get our own music?"
Directed by Same Mendes (American Beauty, The Road to Perdition), Jarhead delves into the soul of America’s fighting forces: the young men out there, with feet on the ground and sand in their faces.
The timing of this DVD release could not be more poignant. Our newspapers are filled everyday with tales of our young men and women currently serving in Iraq. While based upon a different time, this film gives the viewer a small glimpse into the uncertainty and the brotherhood that our troops in Iraq are currently living. This window into what our troops my be facing in daily life (let alone the daily combat operations) and the battles that many may be fighting inside their own heads as they struggle with the boredom, uncertainty, occasional absurdity of the “military” and fear that result from a military deployment to a war zone.
In conclusion, although relatively narrow in scope I would recommend this film to anyone that would like a glimpse inside one soldier’s experiences during Operation Desert-Storm. While it may not be universal, and is by no means attempting to be a historical documentary, this film evokes the true spirit of our modern day soldiers and deserves a viewing!
Please feel free to share your thoughts, good and bad about the movie.
(Note: All images copyright Universal. Do not reproduce.)
