FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
GUNNER PALACE
Produced by two filmmakers
who were embedded with troops in Iraq, Gunner Palace is
essentially a profile of the American soldier, and it largely lets the
troops speak for themselves, be it through interviews, hip-hop
freestyle, horseplay or battle communication. This is a film full
of contradiction: of men and women, some as young as 17, charged with the protection of both America and
Iraq; of combat troops housed in a palace, built for Saddam Hussein’s first wife; of the soldiers'
tremendous fear weighing against their pride.
Organized as a series of vignettes showing patrols,
parties, raids, interviews, and interrogations, Gunner Palace offers a
distinctly different perspective than any other news source. The only political
issues worked in are those most relevant to the troops - two mentioned in
passing are the suspension of college loan bills for active duty soldiers
and the administration's commitment to modern body armor for every soldier.
Gunner Palace also paints a varied picture of the Iraqis themselves, and
they remain as enigmatic as they must seem to the soldiers who are assign to
simultaneously fight and defend them.
Although the central focus of the film is celebrating the
bravery of the servicemen and women, it doesn't shy away from showing a coffin being carried onto an
aircraft. And that is perhaps the most important part of the
film: humanizing the lives on the line in this conflict and making their
loss a personal one.
DVD Extras: The 17 additional scenes are similar to
those in the documentary. They are longer - less edited - than the
main feature and can be both tedious and insightful.
Three audio tracks featuring servicemen rapping
over beats are both electronically produced and improvised by beat-boxing and
drumming on what sounds like the hood of the nearest Hummer. While the
rappers should be commended for their lyrics and delivery, these tracks leave something to be desired. The directors
use a lot of snippets in the film, including some that are heard
more than once and tire quickly with repetition. Tim Farnam
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