When these films were announced and screened, a couple of things came to mind. For those who have seen the 1984 Oscar-winning feature "The Killing Fields," about the life of Dith Pran, you'll understand what is meant by the expression "art that disturbs." This year's lauded Sundance entries "Restrepo" and "Enemies of the People" also have much in common with Picasso's monochromatic cubist canvas known simply as "Guernica."
Picasso's "Guernica," 1937
In 1937, as part of a protest of Franco's complicity with Hitler in the extermination of a Basque village in northern Spain, Picasso sent the painting to Spain's pavilion at the World Expo in Paris. An unapologetic denouncement of the atrocities that had occurred when Franco agreed to allow Hitler's airpower to test the effectiveness of "carpet bombing," Guernica now hangs in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Disturbing then and disturbing now. When one walks into the hall which displays "Guernica," its size immediately imposes its eventual impact. The canvas measures almost 26 feet wide and is 11 feet in height and was created at a time well before anamorphic aspect ratios were conceived for film.
Much has been and will be written about Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's Afghanistan war documentary named after a fallen U.S. medic, Juan "Doc" Restrepo, who was also memorialized when the Forward Operating Firebase where most of the action occurs was named for him as well. In the first moments of the film, we witness Doc bleed out while being evacuated from the front in a futile attempt to save his bullet-riddled life. Sufficient to say here that Junger and his producer Tim Hetherington were able to get footage that almost killed them several times and allows viewers to understand the war in a very personal way. This film is not for the squeamish. It is shocking and stark and beautifully horrific.
"Enemies of the People" chronicles the efforts of Thet Sambath to infiltrate and expose the lives of Pol Pot's cronies who systematically exterminated millions of Camodians in the 1970s. The film documents his 10-year effort to get close to, document and then expose the men and women responsible for a generation of youth in Cambodia who were orphaned by the Khmer Rouge. The film picks up where "The Killing Fields" left off.
Yes, this kind of art is disturbing, but still very necessary. Artists who make paintings of World War II Spain, songwriters and performers who include lyrics exposing social injustice in Nigeria, and filmmakers who bring atrocities into our minds to expose those responsible, are owed our time and our attention if not our gratitude for the sacrifices they've made to create such a prize worthy disturbance in an otherwise comfortable society.
"Restrepo" - Grand Jury Prize Winner, Documentary - Sundance 2010
"Enemies of the People" - World Cinema Special Jury Prize, Documentary - Sundance 2010
more information on Sundance 2010 awards here.
2 comments:
Guernica has stood the test of time... in fact, as far as a depiction of "man's inhumanity to man"... it is timeless and as relevant today as it was when Picasso first conceived it.
Rather than glorify war, or even justify it, Picasso's objective was that his oeuvre become a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war. Above all, it was an anti-war symbol and an embodiment of peace.
Films like Restrepo serve to remind us that we have, in spite of everything, learned nothing.
Man still continues his inhumanity to his fellow man. Cities like Guernica will continue to be bombed... and innocent civilians continue to suffer.
The arena of war may have changed... but the story is the same. And as always, soldiers are the mere pawns in the "Great Game".
Restrepo is scheduled to air in February on the National Geographic Channel. Check local listings.
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