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Movie: Gunner Palace
Starring The Soldiers of the 2/3 Field Artillery
Written and Directed By Michael Tucker (Palm Entertainment)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
This documentary is the real thing, the War In Iraq as it is lived by our soldiers. Shot mostly on small format video equipment by Michael Tucker, the documentary focuses on the lives of The Gunners, an artillery unit that was given Uday Hussein's bombed-out palace to use as a barracks near Baghdad. It's basically a huge mansion complete with pool, putting greens, ornate circular beds and the occasional mortar round landing close by.
We hear explosions and gunfire occurring close by throughout the film, but not on camera because Tucker was just a single journalist. He was embedded with these men soon after hostilities "ended" in 2003. He starts off with footage of a firefight in the streets of Baghdad, but one where Americans don't seem to be involved. In fact the unit's soldiers are not seen firing their weapons at anything, although they always have them at the ready as they travel in their Humvees. However, through Tucker's camera we do get to accompany them on several nighttime weapons raids (why an artillery unit is doing police work like this is never answered) and we are shown how they treat the civilians in these confrontations. Firmly, allowing no nonsense, however the men at at least one house are shown being sent off to Abu Ghraib in spite of the fact that no weapons were found in the raid. Gunner Palace also shows the complete range of emotions of their Iraqi hosts, from the smiling children looking for handouts to the rock throwers to the arrested assassins to the unreliable informants.
The film really isn't about the firefights like an action movie, it's more about how these young men feel about their duty, so we also see and hear several of the soldiers rapping out their feelings and answering many of the questions we would want to ask of them if we met them face to face. Tucker got two one month sessions with the unit and yes, briefly talks of the death of one of them, but it happened when he wasn't in country so there's no footage of the incident itself. He does try to show us who he was in the footage he does have.
Gunner Palace is nothing short of a landmark, one of only a few sources about the war that's unvarnished and free from either a right or a left slant. The young soldiers are allowed to tell their own stories. It's mesmerizing and as the film proceeds you find a building dread, an unrefined tension to it all. You really feel for these guys and respect them too. They are only trying to be good soldiers in a tough situation. Let's hope for everyone's sake they and their Iraqi hosts get through it alive.
The Skinny:
Did I enjoy the movie: It was fascinating and enlightening.
Would I go to see it again: Might need a DVD of it lest we forget how this war really went down.
© 2005 - Rusty Pipes