Brightest Young Things

Originally published on July 8th 2010

As noted during my Silverdocs coverage a few weeks ago, Sebastian Junger’s Restrepo takes you into combat in a way few movies have. With co-director Tim Hetherington, Junger followed/recorded a platoon of American soldiers in Afghanistan. Their proudest accomplishment is Outpost Restrepo, a remote location in the Korengal Valley that allowed the soldiers to subvert Taliban forces. On the day Restrepo released in New York and LA, I sat down with Junger to discuss his project, what it’s like to experience a humvee explosion, and the sacking of General McChrystal.

BYT: How did you get paired with this group of soldiers in particular?

SJ: I was placed with them in 2005 by the Army Public Affairs Office. When I found out they'd deploy again in 2007, I decided I'd follow the platoon.

How did you develop a rapport with them?

The same way you develop a rapport with anyone - by spending time with them. I did five one-month long trips, and with time, you just get closer and closer.

One of the soldiers talked about the thrill of being shot at. Did you personally experience that at all?

Yeah, but it's more complex than that. Part of the rush is shooting back, and the whole chess game of combat is very intense. I mean those days were far more interesting than the days where nothing happened.

What was your biggest challenge in cutting down hours of footage down to a short running time?

I'm sure every filmmaker says this, but it's hard to get rid of the scenes you're personally very fond of, but they don't quite fit into the narrative. For example, there was a scene where the battle company was showing the ropes to a new unit. The new guys were really out of shape and young, whereas the guys I followed were lean and experienced. It was visually really interesting.

With explosions and battle, the opening shot is very intense. What was going through your head as you were filming it?

We were all thinking about our safety. There wasn't much any of us could do, so I just focused attention on my camera. It's a lot scarier being in combat without a camera or something to do. I’m sure you remember the sound gives out later in the shot. I had a mic that was taped into the headset I was wearing, which plugged me into the communications of the convoy. When I bailed out of the humvee, the mic got caught on something. We were under fire, and something snapped when I ran away. I don't know why that cut out sound in the internal mic, but it did.

The shot ends with you watching the firefight. How did the situation eventually resolve?

The shooting died down, and they had to roll the humvee away by chaining it to another one. They did an investigation into the bomb blast to see what they could glean from the residues left. They followed the [detonation] wire up the slope to find where the guy was hiding before he triggered the blast.

Did you help out the soldiers while you were in the Restrepo outpost?

We helped filled sandbags. We always helped carry food and water down to the [landing zone]. Well, technically, it wasn't an LZ because the helicopter wouldn't land there. They'd drop down supplies in slings, and we'd carry them back. Oh, and I passed a box of ammo or two during combat.

You've had a lot of experience with print journalism. What is your biggest challenge in the switch to film?

Physically, it was very hard. We had to carry a lot of weight in dangerous terrain. The cameras got pretty beat up. There was an electricity problem because there was no generator at the outpost, so we just bought a bunch of batteries and brought them with us. Production-wise, organizing the interviews was a nightmare. Financially, it was nightmare because Tim and I paid for the movie ourselves. We negotiated a deal with National Geographic, and they're a great partner, but it took a while to develop a good relationship with them. Every stage was difficult, and we had to figure out something new because neither one of us had made a movie before.

What's the one thing you'd like audiences to take from the movie?

War is a very political thing, and people argue about it intensely, as they should. If no one was arguing about the war, we'd have a real problem in this country. But the soldiers are not thinking about the politics of this war. They volunteered to serve their country no matter what, and their country sent them to the Korengal valley. They're not fighting as liberals or conservatives, but as American soldiers. It's the only identity of significance on that hilltop.

I hope the public can leave their politics at the lobby and experience the soldiers' reality on those terms.  Maybe the movie will change the debate, I don't know, but their experience needs to be understood and acknowledged. If we don't understand what they went through, it will be that much harder to bring them home and reintegrate them.

Can you comment on the recent shakeup in Afghanistan's military leadership?

The army has rules. When a Private breaks the rules, there are consequences. One reason the army works as great as it does is because when a General breaks the rules, there are also consequences. Soldiers on the ground don't really care about who's leading them, as long as he's knowledgeable and honorable. They're like God or something. That's why Generals are not in the movie – the soldiers never engaged with them.

I appreciate the time you took to talk with me!

No problem.

Restrepo opens at E Street on July 9. Buy tickets here!

Previously in BYT interviews:

• 2/7: Wots Pumpin? A Die Antwoord Interview
• 2/6: BYT Interviews: Theophilus London
• 2/6: Style Profile: Emily Wall - Here & Now
• 2/2: BYT Interviews: TYCHO
• 2/1: Simon Doonan Interview
• 1/31: Interview: Terry Gross
• 1/27: Interview: Class Actress
• 1/25: Nick Dillenburg of "Two Gentlemen of Verona"
• 1/24: Reuben Wu of Ladytron - Interview
• 1/20: Asghar Farhadi talks "A Separation."