Untangling the meaning of "Restrepo"

It's tough to do justice to the documentary I saw at SIFF last night - "Restrepo".  Not because it was great or awful - it was neither of those things.  In fact, my rating is a somewhat uneasy B.  Coupled with a strong recommendation that you see it when it comes out in an art-house sized release this July.  I'm more flummoxed by what this documentary could have been.  And maybe should have been.  As it is, I think this movie will appeal to two margins - the strongly anti-war and the proudly pro-soldier.  Some people surely can belong to both margins.  My point is that a vast middle won't find what they're looking for in this documentary.

For the nugget of backgound, Sebastian Junger (who also wrote the book "War" based on this experience) and Tim Hetherington spent big chunks of time embedded with the US Army in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.  This movie is a straight up cinema verite` experience - digital video shot while in combat and just plain dickin' around with the soldiers in their precarious base of operations there.  With some post-action interviews shot on the American base in Italy weaved in to provide the narrative skeleton.  In the action footage, you see all the junk included - dirty camera lenses, manic shooting while running around looking for safety amidst the din of activity, lots of far-from-eloquent profanity splattering off the walls in the heat of action or the cold boredom of inaction.  You see some poignancy in the reactions to lives lost (this was the deadliest area in all of Afghanistan for American forces).  But I found myself teetering on the edge of my seat waiting for...something else.  Something like a moral.  Maybe the point is that one wouldn't be, shouldn't be delivered by these men.  They're meant to out there, doing the job and not asking the larger questions.  But isn't that why we have combat journalists?  If they don't ask those questions or disseminate at least the framework for judgment given the context, isn't it all just a bunch of tough guy posturing?  There is no answer to that.  And maybe I'm a cliche` - someone looking for a kernel of answer to a question that no one can pose.  But I think that question is out there.  War?  What is it good for.

"Restrepo" (named for one of the Privates killed in action and the subsequent name of the forward base of operations in "The Kop") is important.  I'm just not yet sure why.  Maybe it's a karmic pairing in my mind with Memorial Day weekend.  And the concern that a vast middle of the American population doesn't even know why they've got Monday off.  If you're in Seattle, there's another showing today (3:45 @ Harvard Exit).  Definitely worth a viewing and the conversation that will result afterward.

Meanwhile, as the RNC debates how much to tip for a lapdance...

Reactionaries on the Left are lining up to take shots at the latest news from the Obama Administration.  Expanded offshore drilling along the East Coast and off the North Shore of Alaska.  People are shocked, SHOCKED, by the about-face on this ("he campaigned against it, for the love of crepes!").  I, however, must offer up what I've been thinking we've begun to see in policy practice from the Obamanauts and assuredly see here.

Obama is more than just moving the goalposts - he's rolling out a plan to redesign the whole stadium.  This is all part of a plan that was in place back during the campaign.  Because every campaign had a plan of what to do if they won.  And every campaign in the future will.  Even Sarah Palin would put together a similar list of initiatives, albeit one with startlingly different aims.

Anyone who takes the time to ponder the field of play will recall that Bill Clinton did the same thing.  So-called "welfare reform" being the bumpersticker example that to this day drives the GOP off their collective nut.  But there was a whole host of plays that Clinton stole (for lack of a better word) from the traditional playbook of Republicans.  Fast forward to Obama getting his big save with successful passage of health care reform.  He then moves quickly to knock things off of what I believe constitutes their big ol' "to do, to them" list hanging on the fridge in the White House breakroom.  Recess appointments.  Talking tough publicly and privately with Afghanistan.  Opening up energy exploration.  Next up, I expect the list of Administration initiatives will cause even more heartburn for the Left.  Social Security.  Terrorism prosecutions.  War powers undertaken in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and even along the border with drug lords from Mexico.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised by a very moderate pick to replace the soon to retire beloved lefty Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court - most likely a Senator or Governor meant to tie up those pre-ordained to object during confirmation hearings.  Long story short, Obama plays 3D chess.  The GOP, on the other hand, collectively couldn't look one move past yelling "King me!" after Scott Brown won a special election against one of the worst Senate candidates I've ever seen.  

What we're seeing with this offshore drilling headline nugget is a long-planned move in a larger serious game.  Can the GOP now take shots at Obama's energy policies, in anticipation of the climate change legislation debate about to heat up?  Sure, but DAMN did the Obamanauts take the legs out from under that GOP position.  Unfortunately, this "game" does have major impact on the environment and millions of jobs and just about every facet of our society.  I say "unfortunately" only because it has to be played like a game in order to win anything worth claiming as a trophy.  The truth is, I'd rather have Obama "playing" than any other leader in my adult lifetime.  Because even while he's changing the rules and where the dugouts are and how many vendors can sell gawddamn redhots from the stands, I believe this guy is smart enough to be thinking ahead to a whole wide world of what's next.  Obama says it himself - he's a better political strategist than his staffers tasked with that portfolio.  And he's right.

Hope your own perception of crisis presents an opening for expanded opportunities today.  Rock on.

Gravitas comes from a joke about Tim Conway being cast in your role as a maverick?

Barack Obama hit the international road - today he's in eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan. Great pick to get his rhetorical ball rolling. Last night John McCain went on Conan O'Brian to joke about his age. Not so great pick, even though he didn't totally embarrass himself. Obviously, what we'll be seeing in the months ahead are two campaigns in punch-counterpunch mode, as is always the case. But this time around, the Dems have the advantage of reach and endurance. Polls are worthless at this point. It's all about perception. And I predict that unless Obama makes a major gaffe (minor ones should be expected with as many stops as he's scheduled), he comes back home to the States with some major wind in the sails. Everyone dropped the story way too early that Obama outraised McCain by $30Million in just the month of June and has an unprecedented $72Million in the bank. Fundraising stories are the stuff of pre-primary punditry fluff, I suppose. But that advantage (McCain's got $27Million in his coffers) and a really well-choreographed foreign tour is just the sort of bump to shoot for as the nation turns its annual focus toward summer vacations. I believe that the constantly belabored "flip-flop" storyline is a dead end for both sides this cycle. That will forever be the albatross hung around John Kerry's massive head - inappropriately, I must add. So I imagine the endless stream of take-out food tastes much better in Obama headquarters these days for all those sleep-deprived 20somethings. And the after-hours hook-ups are probably a lot more fun, too. After all, that's why many of those folks play the game. The pay sucks, the hours are terrible, you live like a meth addict stuck in a cubicle. But you're surrounded by fellow addicts who are endless fun to hang out with when you stumble outdoors for a ray or two of sun.

Maya had her third ballet lesson this morning. I didn't stick around for the whole show as Sarah and I did the trade-off on watching from the window seats, but the routine for summer Saturdays seems pretty well set. Up early. Challah french toast. Extra syrup. Don the tutu. Get fired up. Hence the extra syrup. Play shy for a few minutes. Join in the gaggle of impossibly adorable girlie compatriots. Rock out, ballet style. Refuse to take off the outfit for hours. Collapse into an afternoon nap. Not a bad gig, for all concerned.

CC Sabathia pitched another complete game last night as the Brew Crew smoked the Giants in San Fran, 9-1. He's 3-0 as a Brewer. Yummy.

Hope your own Saturday features hours and hours of dancing. Rock on.