It is very easy in our current era to become desensitised to warfare. Through the popularity of the fantasy war epic Game of Thrones, the Oscar success of civil war drama Lincoln, or the startling sales of Call of Duty and other war-themed video games that could bankroll an entire invasion, we are, as ever, transfixed by the majesty and morality of battle. The long term consequences of this bloodthirsty entertainment shouldn’t be of too much concern, as it is far from a new phenomenon; the epics of Homer were just as gruesome as the gunshows of Tarentino. We can permit ourselves to enjoy them, so long as we can still remind ourselves of the real-life consequences of real-life bloodshed. Let us be thankful, then, for a documentary like We Went To War, that forces us to reconsider what becomes of the veterans of a senseless conflict nearly forty years past.
Michael Grigsby’s new film is a taciturn tribute to the soldiers of the Vietnam War. It arrives 43 years on from Grigby’s I Was A Soldier, which followed three men, Dennis, David and Lamar, as they returned from Vietnam and tried to settle back into life at home. Now, he follows the same three soldiers as they continue living day to day in rural Texas, their scars now aged but still raw and ever-present. A series of extended still shots of their native countryside, combined with wide tracking takes of cars progressing across the endless landscape, place us into the serene and ostensibly relaxing location. However, when coupled with the testimony of these men as they still try to recover from the mental wounds of war, together with a soundtrack of pop music from the Vietnam era, an atmosphere of irresolution, unrest and disaffection creeps through the celluloid of empty streets and lonely forests. We see archive interviews with these men shortly after their return from Vietnam, juxtaposed with more current footage of them as aged relics of American history, and come to see how little has changed: they are still at war in their minds, overcoming flashbacks, alcoholism, and the long term effects of chemical weaponry.
The power of the film lies in its startling modesty; there is no footage of battles or patriotic Presidential speeches, nothing that would relate back to the Hollywood warfare of classic Vietnam films, whose depiction of guns, guts and explosions tend to paradoxically sate our thirst for glorious screen violence as they try to decry its inhumanity. In its place, we have the real-life aftermath of the real men behind the myth, recalling through candid testimonial what it is like to live everyday with the post-traumatic fear that the enemy is still lying somewhere over the hill. In addition, we hear from their now grown-up children, to whom they could never properly relate their experience, and see them talk about it with more recent veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The overall effect of watching We Went to War is that of a profound re-sensitisation; it brings the serious consequences of thoughtless ferocity to the forefront, stamping the price of warfare onto your brain like a violent hangover. In an age where you can download Assassins’ Creed to your smart phone within minutes, this makes for profound and essential viewing.
“We Went To War” is out on general release from the 29th of March. A special preview screening and Q&A with the creators is taking place this Sunday, March 24th, at the London Institute of Contemporary Arts. Details can be found at http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=36899
We are saddened to report that the director, Michael Grigsby, passed away on the 12th of March, aged 76. Our thoughts go out to his family.
Rating: 5/5
