Culturebox: Tim Hetherington's Diary

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movies Tim Hetherington's Diary The short film that showed where he was going as a director. By Dana Stevens Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011, at 9:34 PM ET Tim Hetherington, the British director and conflict photographer who was killed Wednesday while filming rebel violence in Libya, didn't make war documentaries in the traditional sense of the word. His Oscar-nominated 2010 film Restrepo, co-directed with Sebastian Junger, doesn't aim to instruct you about the objectives or strategy of the war in Afghanistan (the way, for example, that Charles Ferguson's excellent No End in Sight briefed viewers on the events that led to the disintegration of Iraq's infrastructure shortly after the 2003 invasion). Rather, Restrepo hurls the viewer into the chaotic, sometimes boring, then suddenly terrifying daily life of one Army unit during its 15-month deployment in the Korengal Valley, known in the military as one of the most dangerous postings in the world. Freed from the explanatory voice-overs and talking-head experts that serve as the structuring principles of Frontline-style combat docs, the viewer of Restrepo is forced to assume the point of view of one the unit's soldiers: confused, disoriented, afraid of what might be coming next. There are scenes in Restrepo that are terrifying less for what happens in them than for their sense that anything could happen. To continue reading, click here. Dana Stevens is Slate's movie critic. E-mail her at slatemovies@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate If Liberals Are So Outraged by Ryan's Budget, Where Are the Town-Hall Protests? Morgan Spurlock on the Dreadful Effects of Being Surrounded by Advertising Do You Know How Much Energy Your Appliances Use? Are You Sure? Take Our Quiz.	Advertisement
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