THE TIMES ARE GOING TOO FAST - TRUE STORY - "JARHEAD"

Ok, I think I told you a couple of weeks back that I was doing my dissertation on war films. And that said war films would crop up on the blog from time to time. Honestly, Jarhead was kinda scheduled right from the start; Sam Mendes is one of my favourite directors of all times. I think his great success lies in his ability to portray very dramatic emotions with honesty, in all their brutality and drama but without exaggeration. This is why, when you watch one of his films, you will very probably be turned on your head – metaphorically. But you can’t take refuge in the excuse that “oh that’s not realistic at all”. Combine this quality with war; you get something quite extraordinary and unforgettable. Jarhead is a beautiful commentary on modern warfare and all the different tragic stories it entails. “Swoff” (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a jarhead. A jarhead is slang for a U.S. marine. He goes through boot camp, trains as a sniper and then… War breaks out. The first Gulf War. Swoff and his fellow snipers are among the first to land in Iraq, trained to the teeth, ready for anything. They are quick to discover that all their classical army training has not prepared them for the realities of war, especially the First Gulf War. The main enemies the soldiers have to fight is heat, boredom and the constant suspense provided by the threat of actual warfare. Just when they have adapted to this set of conditions however, war breaks out. And the snipers have to face the realities of war, a reality that they could not have imagined, no, not even in their worst nightmares. Now, you know that there are one heck of a lot of “war is hell” type films about. You also know that I have a bit of a soft spot for them. This, ladies and gents, is not one of those films. The film is set in war and is about war, this much is true. But if you dig a little way under the face value of the whole affair, you will find there are greater philosophical concerns. This film is largely about the fast changing world today. Technology, modern life, you will have noticed everything changes. Everything changes very, very quickly. It is about the sense of disorientation you get face to face with the computers dominating our lives today; and I’m not talking about your grandmother’s generation trying to make sense of a tablet computer. I’m talking about all the computers, in areas you never even thought they were. The marines, Swoff and his friends have their ideals, their dreams, yet the life they have built is already mutating by itself, passing them by. It is interesting, philosophical and in a sense tragic. But most impressive of all is the very understated “based on the book by anthony swofford” nestled among the credits. Yes people, scarily enough, it’s a true story. About stuff that is really happening / has happened”. All told in Mendes’s hard-hitting, emotional style. It will give you a lot to think about. It will grab you by the heartstrings and not let go for a good, long while. Please don’t miss it…