One of the most haunting scenes you'll ever see on film : Restrepo

The National Geographic documentary "Restrepo," directed by Heatherington (?) and Sebastian Junger, is the best inside look at the war in Afghanistan that we're ever likely to get. We see in 90-minutes exactly what it's like to be in a platoon stationed at the most remote outpost, in the Korengal Valley near the Pakistan border. Some of the war footage is extraordinary - you don't see the incredibly exciting drama that we always see in scripted war movies, such as HBO's Pacific of the the movie Generation Kill, both excellent in their way. No, this is more vivid because the skirmishes seem so random, so out of control (couldn't help thinking of War and Peace, and Tolstoy's belief that all the planning and strategy ends when the battle begins). The scene in which one of the men is shot to death and we see the horrified panic of other soldiers is one of the most haunting scenes you'll ever see on film. Kudos to the team for living with the soldiers not only for the skirmishes but for the long tedium of warfare, for cutting the film to 90 minutes (must have been tempted to do a 10-part series with all the footage, but 90 minutes works), and for incredible bravery under fire and on the road (vehicle hits a mine at one point -another amazing scene). When you see this film you'll see why our presence in Afghanistan is a disaster - and not through any sermonizing or tendentiousness - you just watch the soldiers trying to ingratiate themselves with the village elders, after we've bombed their fragile homes and killed and injured people and livestock, and you just have to feel sick. We've been there before.