The other day I rented Restrepo, a documentary on the war in Afghanistan. It was incredible. I am a stubborn anti-war, anti-violence, anti-gun, and pro-peace person, but I rented this documetnary with the intent to try and educate myself on what it’s really like in Afghanistan. The documentary is filmed by two famous war photographers and filmers: Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger. Tim Hetherington, however, was killed in Libya recently covering the war there.

Hetherington and Junger said their idea for the film was to make the viewer feel like they were in Korengal Valley and to be able to feel the similar emotions and experiences Hetherington and Junger felt while filming. I love this documentary because it is raw, honest, captivating, and creates a new perspective on war. The documentary follows a platoon group on a 15-month deployment in the Korengal Valley of northeast Afghanistan. President George Bush once said The Korengal Valley was  ”the deadliest place on Earth”.

The film portrays interactions amongst the locals, the presence of the Taliban, the impressive knowledge of geography amongst the soldiers, the emotional trauma of war, and the dangerous mission Rock Avalanche.