Restrepo is the name of an outpost established in the Korangal Valley in Afghanistan, named after a soldier who was killed there during a small skirmish early in his platoons campaign. The film documents a year and some months the platoon spends there, filmed by an embedded journalist and photographer. And it is insane. I just can't get over what these people go through while serving. The footage that is shot on site is intermixed with interviews from some of the soldiers recently after they have been relieved of duty. There are moments where stories are being told through the interviews, cutting from soldier to soldier, and I'm on the edge of my seat.
One sequence in particular serves as conveniently sad and disturbing climax of the film: the Rock Avalanche days. We get first hand accounts of the story, then surprisingly, a cut to footage from shortly after all Hell breaks loose. We see reactions, emotion, plans, chaos, all unfold before our eyes and you realize - not for the first time - that this happened, this was not fake, this really happened to these people. It's a lot to take in.
There are other scenes that show day to day life, interactions with locals, downtime, mourning and the fighting. The film focuses on a few of the soldiers and lets them speak for themselves; there is no political agenda here. It's an absorbing, thought-provoking perspective on war that is both humbling and scary.
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