The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow is a film that is set in Afghanistan during the War period. Kathryn Bigelow shows the War in its true intensity and captures the realist aspect of this time. The traumas, emotions and consequences of War are being explored in The Hurt Locker.
The action throughout the Hurt Locker is gripping and the scenes generally are intense. One scene in particular that shows this is the sequence when the soldiers are surrounded by Iraqi soldiers in the open desert. This scene is very long and intense because of the uncertainty involved. The American soldiers sit and wait for any movement from the Iraqi soldiers from a distant small house. The Hurt Locker is different to other War films such as Black Hawk Down or Saving Private Ryan because the action in The Hurt Locker is less brutal and the scenes are more subtle and slower paced. This scene is an example of that which creates mystery and adds a danger element to the film.
The Mise-en Scene (locations, characters props, etc.) is not claustrophobic therefore giving the audience a wider view on the film. Visually the film is very bright and is easy on the eye.
The tactics of the Iraq War were shown in the film by a character named (SSG James) actor (Jeremy Renner) whom takes a lot of risks in the film as he is constantly diffusing bombs. This gives us an idea of the tactics and strategies that may have been involved in the Iraqi War. Also what is interesting is how weapons of mass destruction are not even mentioned. American President George Bush claimed that it was the reason that America went to war.
The Hurt Locker does show the differences culturally between America and Iraq. Economically America is wealthier and sustains a well organised army. You can see by watching The Hurt Locker that Iraq has fewer resources and have much lesser power than America. There are more Iraqi soldiers that are killed in the film, which gives an indication that American troops are more organised and have bigger numbers. The American soldiers are shown as being very masculine throughout the movie. There was one scene where two American soldiers start practice fighting on each other.
On the whole I found the film very interesting because it was the first time I had seen a film that shows the Iraq war, although I did see Black Hawk Down which is similar but not quite the same. A criticism of The Hurt Locker is that you only get the perspective of the Americans and not the Iraqi’s. You don’t really know how their army is run, what they do culturally or how they behave. The Hurt Locker shows us the struggle of the Americans but not the Iraqi’s. I suppose it would have been controversial however if they showed the position of the Iraqis because The Hurt Locker is an American film and it wouldn’t be appropriate to represent the Iraqis. Never the less there are many examples in other American films that do the same thing.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed The Hurt Locker because of its intensity and action. It is an enjoyable spectacle with a nice pace to it. I would recommend it to anyone. I would rate this film 6/10.
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