Posted on 09/07/2009 3:54:14 AM PDT by Kaslin
Americans have rarely seen war. Even during the World Wars, only a relatively small number of Americans saw war up close. Since the advent of television we have all seen war principally through the eye of the TV camera, reliant on others to sift through the information to present what they deem appropriate to see. One man decided that this was not good enough for him and changed how we understand war forever.
Jake Rademacher is not some detached Hollywood actor seeking greater meaning in his life. He had two brothers in Iraq. Jake had wanted to attend West Point, but was washed out by physical maladies like poor eyesight. His brother, Captain Isaac, had attended West Point and was leading troops in Iraq. Another brother, Sergeant Joe, is a Ranger and was in Iraq as a sniper. While Jake followed news reports daily, he felt a yearning for greater understanding of what his two brothers were going through.
This led Jake on a five-year journey to create his documentary “Brothers at War.” Setting out to show the reality of war-zone experience, Jake was granted special access to his brother’s unit in Iraq. He decided against using any stock footage. He wanted viewers sharing the soldiers’ daily challenges just as he did while living the life of a soldier in the hot, dry, dangerous zones of Iraq. The result produces a film that rivets and gut-wrenches the audience in a manner that no fictional movie ever could. The audience feels the true experience of the modern-day soldiers defending our country.
The film intertwines the experiences in Iraq with the understanding of the Rademacher family dynamic. This family of six children and two devoted parents, hailing from Decatur, Illinois, represents the values of the heartland. That was the background Jake brought to the filmmaking. He always believed that the mainstream media provided an even-handed representation of the news and events in Iraq. But his experiences on the front lines clarified to him that they were misrepresenting the challenges and accomplishments of the troops, making this film ever so more valuable an experience for Jake.
There have been other recent attempts to convey the reality of the Iraq war, such as the film “The Hurt Locker” and the HBO mini-series, “Generation Kill.” When we recently met, Jake told me he felt the main difference between his film and these other very worthy projects is that the others rarely show the bad guys. You never get the true feeling of the enemy. Jake went on patrol with Iraqi troops. He said when you see insurgents with Syrian passports attacking Iraqis you begin to understand the true sense of what purpose we have in this war.
In any film there are moments that motivate each viewer differently. The scene that hit me, and I felt encapsulated all aspects of the film, was when Jake was sitting around one night while on patrol and interviewed SPC Christopher Mackay. Mr. Mackay, sitting in the middle of a desert with no bed or cover or toilet, was asked why he was willing to suffer these discomforts. He replied, “my niece, both of my nieces, they’re gonna have an education; they’re gonna have a life and it’s because of me being over here that they’re gonna be able to continue their life. You know, same with like if you have kids or anybody else has kids I mean, we’re out here for them you know, we work for them.” Jake then asked Mackay if it was worth it if it costs him his life. Mackay replied “Yeah it’d be worth it. That’s why I’m here, I’d give my life for America any day; wouldn’t think twice.” The statement stills gives me chills.
Moments like this are why Jake has had such a tremendous response not only from viewers like me, but from veterans of Iraq and other wars. Those veterans are telling him that his film captures the true essence of their experiences unlike any they have ever seen. Jake told me of one screening where he was speaking with Senator John McCain and a Vet walked up and hugged Jake. Even McCain was caught short by that.
Brothers at War will be back in the movie theaters for Veteran’s Day. Whatever you do, see this film. This movie changed the life of Jake Rademacher, it changed my view of our troops and it will change you unlike any other movie you may see. It is a monumental experience in documentary filmmaking.
bump
I’ll watch for it on the TNT network.
The Hurt Locker and Generation Kill are nothing but slapped together hit pieces that support the hate Bush crowd...
I see thm in DVD ever now and then at Wally World...Lots of dust on them...
You should not judge the book/movie by it’s cover
How did you rate the hurt locker that way. I didn’t see the politics in it.
Saw a real world EOD team with a bit of hollywood thrown in. As to render safe procedures.
It can't be. Michael Moore didn't make it, so it's not a real documentary.
I saw some parts of Generation Kill and then read the book. The mini-series is nothing like the book, and is crap as you mention below.
Critics do it all the time and get paid for it???
Why can’t I???
I’m a cheap date, thats all I can say...;-)
To me it seemed like an ends to a means...
I know guys the work(ed) disposal, and they do not need Hollywood to do them any favors...
I know it appears that I am a bit harsh, but thats just the way I feel about it...
Moore doesn’t make documentaries...
They don’t have a word yet for what he does...
Americans have rarely seen war. Even during the World Wars, only a relatively small number of Americans saw war up close.
What utter silly nonsense..
The American Revolution
The Civil War
WW1 and WW2
Vietnam
Irag/Afghanistan.
Millions of Americans have seen war first hand and upclose. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are dead because of war,
10’s of millions of people are FREE because of the Americans that have fought in wars.
I am retired EOD. It was real shy of detail IED process.
Hopefully yer not confusing EOD with police bomb squad
Hope yer well.
““Yeah it’d be worth it. That’s why I’m here, I’d give my life for America any day; wouldn’t think twice.””
We have a President in charge of these men who HATES America - turns his back on its flag and hangs with other haters of the United States.
>Americans have rarely seen war. Even during the World Wars, only a relatively small number of Americans saw war up close.
>What utter silly nonsense..
>The American Revolution
>The Civil War
>WW1 and WW2
>Vietnam
>Irag/Afghanistan.
>Millions of Americans have seen war first hand and upclose. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are dead because of war,
>10’s of millions of people are FREE because of the Americans that have fought in wars.
Missed a war or 2 in the list. My family sent sons to the Revolution, The Mexican War, the Civil War, The Spanish-American War, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Irag and Afghanistan. Yeah, I know we missed showing up at the War of 1812 and Granada, we’ll do better in the future.
The author’s statement is NOT nonsense; in comparison to US total population, very few have really seen war up close. Additionally, some who served in the AO could actually say this; several of my friends served during the Vietnam War (Air Force in Thailand and Navy off the coast of Vietnam) and never saw the war up close.
You are correct that millions have seen war up close but you must compare that figure to the entire US population (especially now and especially against the current enemy). My parents and relatives were bombed by the Japanese in China so it’s safe to say that they have personally seen war but few Americans have had that experience.
You forgot Korea.
Thanks for the heads up.
I was living in the Midlands of Britain the whole time of WWII...just a young kid who knew little of what was going on. I am not proud of having had to go down the shelters every night for two years..nor of having almost nothing to eat for weeks on end..nor of watching my mom crying her eyes out when my dad was killed fighting the incendiary fires.
War is not something to be proud of..it is dirty, disgusting, heart wrenching and foul. I am happy for all the Americans who have never seen it face to face..and I hope you never have to cringe and die inside every time you hear the sirens going.
Even now after all these decades I still miss a heart beat when I hear that siren noise..when I tried to watch the movie about British kids during the war..I couldn’t do it I just sat there with tears rolling down my face watching the kids boarding the trains taking them away from the bombs.
Be happy you have not seen the face of war..you missed nothing!
Actually it's called propaganda. Communist propaganda to be exact.
For the closest approximation, I would vote for: "TREASON"...
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