> REVIEW
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Hell And Back Again (2011)
US forces at work in Afghanistan…
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By Matt Arnoldi | October 2011
Docurama Films©
DIRECTOR: Danfung Dennis
Respected journalist Danfung Dennis’ documentary Hell And Back Again follows the US Marines of Echo Company 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment on a gruelling tour of Afghanistan during the summer of 2009.
Dennis’ documentary won two awards at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize and as well as the Award for Cinematography and the film captures some revealing insights into what has gone on in Afghanistan whilst taking an impartial stance over the military presence there.
The Regiment are dropped behind enemy lines to seize a key objective in the dangerous region of the river valley in Helmand province. Through the course of the tour, we follow the exploits of the whole company and one Marine in particular, 25-year old Sgt Nathan Harris, who after commanding soldiers in his regiment, gets hit high up in the right leg by a machine-gun bullet and airlifted home just before the completion of the six-month duty.
The documentary opens out, inviting the viewer to follow two strands seamlessly, as it shows Nathan in action in Afghanistan and his return to North Carolina and attempts to cope with rehabilitation and need for care from girlfriend Ashley.
This is realistic fly-on-the-wall documentary filmmaking. In a bid to capture startling imagery, director Darfung Dennis specially doctored his camera, a Canon SD Mark II, customising it also to record specially fine-tuned audio sound. This offers an intimate experience for the viewer, whether in the compound, following the solder in front to the frontline or in the back of the car in North Carolina as Sgt Harris is driven to a medical appointment.
Dennis aims to show a balanced view of the war, depicting the attempts of the USsoldiers to persuade local people they are a force for good whilst also showing the wearied voices of the locals themselves distrusting both the Taliban and US forces.
Back home in North Carolina, Dennis captures the frustrations of a soldier attempting to speed up his rehabilitation process, getting used to taking a mountain of daily pills and appreciating the encouragement he gets from a stranger in his local Wal-Mart. Nathan is still a killing machine, guns are the only things he knows and Dennis’ documentary shows he still suffers from the mental anguish of the duty in Afghanistan.
The director’s desire to produce a revealing documentary about the Allied forces’ work is by no means definitive. There are other accounts out there, both in fictionalised and documentary form, so Hell And Back Again is not going to be viewed as groundbreaking in subject matter alone.
It could be argued that Dennis’s documentary takes a fairly widely accepted stance, showing that theatres of war can be hellish while for those returning injured back home, there’s a sense of loneliness and questioning of self-worth.
Hell And Back Again is to be applauded for being both frank and honest. Dennis gets into situations where his personal safety is clearly at risk. He also shows the challenges that the Allied forces are up against, the human cost of their sacrifice and gives an honest portrayal of those efforts.
Throughout though there is a notable sense of optimism, be it pride from those back home, or the regiment risking their lives, Nathan trying to be upbeat in the face of adversity, or his uncomplaining and patient girlfriend assisting him with getting in and out of a wheelchair. These are startling images and are well captured on Dennis’s SLR Canon.
You may wonder sceptically if the Allied forces will ever be able to leave this war-torn country but in the end you are left with a hope that the efforts of Echo Company’s 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment won’t have been in vain. And that Sgt Harris may find a new role back home and will escape the mental angst that still confronts him.
Subject……………………………………………………………………………..……………..
In what is a well-furrowed documentary genre, Dennis captures some startlingly honest and expressive imagery. The results are not quite what you might expect, showing, for example, battlefield ops that are not so well organised, conversations with locals which don’t necessarily go to plan and back home, a disabled soldier still wielding his guns even when lying next to his girlfriend in bed. 4
Direction………………………………………………………………………………..…………
The first documentary feature to be shot on a customised digital SLR with a specialised audio attachment to capture dialogue, gives Dennis’ fly-on-the-wall approach a particularly raw and visceral feel. 4
Verdict………………………………………………………………………………………………
Dennis’ impartial approach to this particular theatre of war is refreshing. Hell And Back Again seeks to show the efforts, emotions and frustrations of a regiment’s tour
of duty in Afghanistan. Though it can’t be viewed as definitive it should be applauded for its frank approach to the subject matter. 4
