Posted on 04/12/2008 2:37:04 PM PDT by RedRover
Is it okay to hate a movie before you've seen it? I hated Nick Broomfields movie Battle For Haditha from the first few moments into the seven-minute trailer.
But at least one Marine doesnt think Im being fair.
Elliot Ruiz is the lead actor in the film. He plays Corporal Ramireza character based on the real-life Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich.
Ruiz was also a real Marine. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The war ended for him in April 2004 when an Iraqi drove a car through barbed wire at a checkpoint, and the wire almost tore Ruizs leg apart.
We had a chance to talk this week while he drove his brother, who just graduated from Marine boot camp, to Twenty-Nine Palms.
Defend Our Marines: You know, people, including me, are angry at you.
Elliot Ruiz: Yeah, Ive been on DefendOurMarines.com. Thats why I wanted to do this interview. The thing is that nobodys seen the movie yet. From the trailer what they see is a bunch of Marines killing all these innocent people. I want people to understand that this is film isnt trying to incriminate the Marines.
Defend Our Marines: But your portrayal of the shooting at the white taxi is cold-blooded murder. Your character shoots five Iraqis who have their hands in the air. In reality, the shooting at the white taxi was nothing like your portrayal. SSgt Wuterich was a good distance away: his line of sight was blocked, another Marine almost certainly fired the fatal shots. Forensics and testimony all tend to corroborate statements that the Iraqis were moving away from the car.
Elliot Ruiz: The film is definitely a fictional portrayal. At no point are we blaming the Marines for this. I wouldn't want to be part of something that gave the Marine Corps a bad name. I saw what the director, Nick Broomfield, was trying to do. Nick wasnt trying to blame the Marines, Nick wasnt trying to blame the Iraqis. And it wasnt just a two-sided story, he also showed how the innocent Iraqis are caught in the middle between the military and the insurgents. So hes actually showing three stories at once.
Defend Our Marines: I cant speak for the Wuterich family, obviously, but I think theyd probably appreciate it if you stressed to the media that this is not a true story.
Elliot Ruiz: Obviously, nobody knows exactly what happened. I did an interview on the BBC and I said that nobody would ever know exactly what happened except for the people who were really there. Its shot as a docudrama style because thats Nick style: he is a documentary film maker.
Defend Our Marines: You depict deaths inside the houses as well.
Elliot Ruiz: We show things like a Marine throwing a grenade in a room not knowing that it was full of kids. He wanted to clear the room and make sure his friends were okay. Collateral damage, it happens. Its war. Were not going to sugarcoat anything. People died because its war. The film shows how some of those deaths might have occurred.
A Marine doesnt want to kick into a room but theres people shooting at him. In the film, there are two or three different people shooting at the Marines. They dont know where the fire is coming from, so, to be safe, they throw a grenade into a room and unfortunately that room might have had kids in it.
But whos to blame for that?
The great thing about this film is that it brings humanity to the characters. You feel bad for my charactereven though it shows him killing the guys in the white taxi. You feel bad for my character because you know deep down its not his fault. Its not his fault that hes put in this situation.
Nick wasnt trying to bash the Marine Corps or saying Marines killed all these innocent civilians like Time magazine and that congressman said. Its real easy for people who sit behind a desk to say something like that. To point their fingers when it doesnt effect them or their families. Nick wanted to bring humanity to these people even though what happened in the film is an inhumane thing. You feel bad for them and you feel bad for the situation theyre put in.
Defend Our Marines: But the film is still based on false allegations about real people. And that makes it confusing. Anyone watching the film would probably think your portrayal is how it happened.
Elliot Ruiz: Lets just say that if they did go in and kill those people: who was really responsible? Should Wuterich be really to blame for that? Who put them in that situation? Who is really to blame for all this happening? Thats what were trying to get to in this movie.
Defend Our Marines: Well, I find it hard to imagine that Marines massacred people because I havent seen any evidence that a crime was committed in Haditha. But if I could imagine it, I would still disagree with you. If a crime was committed, frankly, Id hold the Marines responsible. And actually SSgt Wuterich himself has taken responsibility for the actions of his squad. In real life, nobody accused of crimes for Haditha is playing the punk card. Blaming higher command or blaming President Bush or Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld is just playing anti-war politics.
Elliot Ruiz: But is it really the Marines fault? If they did do it, is it really their fault?
People dont know the type of stresses of war we go through. People dont know the type of war that were fighting. In the film we show how an insurgent can set off an IED and walk past you and you dont even know that was the guy who just killed your friend.
And thats what this film shows. The media doesnt show that. The media doesnt show the types of things we go through. Nobody knows the types of things that we go through. People can only imagine and see what is fed to them on TVthats what they see. And thats what makes this film so great. It gives people a glimpse of the day-to-day life we live out there. Being with friends, losing friends, being put in leadership positions of all these young guys. So now youre not only stressed out that you might die out there, but the fact that youre in charge of all these Marines that if dont get them home to their family, how are you going to feel?
And it also shows how were just pawns in this war. How were being used, how were being manipulated, it also shows how the innocent Iraqis are being manipulated by the insurgents and how they use propaganda videos. And it also shows the type of situations that were placed in, the type of decisions were forced to make.
And really, who was it that sent us in there? We werent like, yeah, we want to go into Iraq, we want to do this. Nobody wants to go and fight, nobody wants to go and kill people. Thats something that no human wants to do. But thats our job. People have to understand thats our job. Thats what we do if we have to. We hope that we never have to do something like that, but it happens. Its war.
Defend Our Marines: Are you following the cases, the trials that have been going on in Pendleton?
Elliot Ruiz: I have friends who are stationed at Pendleton and theyll call and update me. I go to DefendOurMarines.com. Thats why I was interested that you contacted me. Theres so much on your site to read about. Its overwhelming with the info.
You know, theres a lot of films out thereI dont want to mention any namesbut theres films out there that are showing the military as machines, they are out there killing, and our film is the opposite of that.
I don't want to name names, but I saw one film at the Toronto Film Festival that made me sick to my stomach. I was so pissed off. We stood up before the entire audience, myself and another guy in the Haditha film, and we stood up and said this is a disgrace to the military, this is a slap in the face to the military. People are going to see this film and think all Marines and soldiers act like this. Its just horrible the way the military is depicted in it. Because of the director, and who he was, everybody was in shock that we were talking to him like this. It was a disgrace and we told him.
The media couldnt even believe it. They started taking notes and taking pictures and he got pissed. He was throwing his arms up and screaming, I did the research! and all this other stuff. And we just walked out quietly.
Defend Our Marines: So you are hoping people will take something positive from Battle For Haditha?
Elliot Ruiz: Theres just so much information in the film. I really hope people look past the massacre or that actual scene where my character is killing those people. I hope they really look past that and go see the film and leave with at least an idea of the types of things these Marines go through on a day-to-day basis. The film throws up three sides to one story and it lets people decide for themselves who they feel is responsible for an event that might have happened.
Battle for Haditha will be shown at the Film Forum in New York City from Wednesday, May 7 to Tuesday, May 20.
Bump...just kiddin
Impressive that he actually answered your questions and didn’t say “no comment” or “my (mmmm) agent told me not to”.
I think I’ll go see “Speed Racer” instead.
Glad to know Ruiz had been reading your site prior to the interview. IOW, He was prepared. Unfortunately, imo, Ruiz is now reduced to that of "Spin Doctor" notoriety in the interests of gaining an audience for a pack of lies he helped to promote.
Why does the Producer not include a clearly stated disclaimer in trailers and at the beginning of the film, something like, "This is a Fictional Portrayal of the Battle of Haditha, etc."? Instead he's presenting the film as factual events. Disturbing.
Semper Fi
Yellow river.
Good interview, Red.
Too bad Ruiz doesn’t recognize a postcard when he sees one.
Are you confusing him with Dela Cruz????
I've read through the interview twice, and I'm having a very hard time believing his sincerity in making this statement. I don't like to second guess a fellow Marine, especially a combat veteran, but his explanations don't quite sit well with me.
Thanks for doing this interview Red, and above all, thanks for everything you do.
Do you know where Broomfield got the funding for his epic?
Just curious. I would hate to rent a movie funded by the same people. Would make me feel, well, dirty.
The Pendleton picture just made my day! :)
Thank You Thank You Thank You
A British TV company wasted their money on this. So, no worries. A Marilyn Chambers DVD is clean compared to this.
I have no words at this time.
You are eloquent nonetheless.
What would Ward and June do with you?
Therein lies the problem with the entire project. The film is SO CLEARLY a barely-disguised portrayal of A FALSE, insurgent-generated version of the events at Haditha that confusion is inevitable - - on several levels.
Elliot Ruiz: Lets just say that if they did go in and kill those people: who was really responsible? Should Wuterich be really to blame for that? Who put them in that situation? Who is really to blame for all this happening?
How about the cowardly insurgent terrorists who use civilians as human shields?
I think the answer is pretty obvious... I wonder if Nick's movie makes it obvious as well.
By the way, that was an excellent interview. Great job.
FRegards,
LH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
I’d rather sit thru the gore-fest Prom Night than watch Broomfield’s craptacular lie.
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