October 09, 2004
Popped Culture.com "A fantastic look at a place we think we know, but really have no true sense of."
Toronto Film Film Fest Day 3
A new day of movies (Saturday) and stunning film experience. First off was Gunner Palace, a documentary about a U.S. artillery unit based in one of Uday Hussein's bombed out palaces in Baghdad. An incredible first-person account, the director lived and patrolled with these soldiers during what was euphemistically refereed to as "minor combat" -- the months of 203 after George Bush had declared the war over.
An apolitical film that did not delve into the validity of their presence, but instead dealt with how soldiers not trained as police lived with the daily threat of being killed while patrolling a populace that clearly does not want their presence. The soldiers were all young men and women and seemed to be the first to recognize the irrationality of war, while still believing in what they were doing. As Captain Jon Powers - who was in the film and attended the screening said: "Whether the reasons we are there are valid or not, now that we are there we need to do the best that we can." A fantastic look at a place we think we know, but really have no true sense of. See this film if you can.
