Jarhead - La fin de l'innocence (2005)

A psychological study of operations desert shield and desert storm during the gulf war; through the eyes of a U.S marine sniper who struggles to cope with the possibility his girlfriend may be cheating on him back home.

Director:

Sam Mendes

Writers:

William Broyles Jr. (screenplay) (as William D. Broyles Jr.), Anthony Swofford (book)

Stars:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black

6 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Anthony Swofford
Scott MacDonald	...	D.I. Fitch
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Alan Troy
Jamie Foxx	...	Staff Sgt. Sykes
Ming Lo	...	Bored Gunny
Lucas Black	...	Chris Kruger
Kevin Foster	...	Branded Marine
Brian Geraghty	...	Fergus O'Donnell
Damion Poitier	...	Poitier
Riad Galayini	...	Nurse
Craig Coyne	...	Young Mr. Swofford
Katherine Randolph	...	Young Mrs. Swofford
Rini Bell	...	Swoff's Sister
Dendrie Taylor	...	Mrs. Swofford
James Morrison	...	Mr. Swofford

Storyline

Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, a Camus-reading kid from Sacramento, enlists in the Marines in the late 1980s. He malingers during boot camp, but makes it through as a sniper, paired with the usually-reliable Troy. The Gulf War breaks out, and his unit goes to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. After 175 days of boredom, adrenaline, heat, worry about his girlfriend finding someone else, losing it and nearly killing a mate, demotion, latrine cleaning, faulty gas masks, and desert football, Desert Storm begins. In less than five days, it's over, but not before Swoff sees burned bodies, flaming oil derricks, an oil-drenched horse, and maybe a chance at killing. Where does all the testosterone go?

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Plot Keywords:

desert | boot camp | gulf war | american abroad | u.s. military | 

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Taglines:

Every man fights his own war.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Tous publics

Details

Official Sites:

Universal [United States]

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English Spanish Arabic Latin

Release Date:

11 January 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Jarhead - La fin de l'innocence

Filming Locations:

Osborne Park, Imperial Sand Dunes, Brawley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$72,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$27,726,210 (USA) (4 November 2005)

Gross:

$62,647,540 (USA) (13 January 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Red Wagon Entertainment, Neal Street Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Mendes's first film without cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, who died in 2002.

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Goofs

In the final desert scene at the night-time party when Swoff and Troy arrive and begin shooting into the air, the camera cuts to a other men at the party also firing into the air. Swoff begins by firing his sniper rifle but when the camera goes back to him his weapon has switched to a light belt-fed machine gun.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Anthony 'Swoff' Swofford: A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, Sykes can be heard calling out the following military cadence, with his platoon responding: 'All my life it was my dream/ To be a bad motherfucking U.S. Marine.'

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Connections

Followed by Jarhead 2 (2014)

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Soundtracks

You are the Sunshine of My Life
Written by Stevie Wonder

User Reviews

Extremely powerful and moving War pic. A 'Platoon' for Gen X.

I saw this movie at a screening at UC Berkeley. Afterward the author of the novel it is based on held a Q&A.

This movie is a bit long, but so are most War films. It does, however, keep your attention the entire times.

This film is not just a War film, it is able to seamlessly mix comedy and drama, with such issues as Mental health and even a bit of ennui.

The characters are fully developed, each and everyone has an interesting story that is covered, briefly but perfectly. You get a broad spectrum of the kinds of men that go to war, what they left behind, and how it effects them when they return.

The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and Sam Mendes' direction is pitch perfect.

Jakc Gyllenhaal gives an astounding performance, as does Jamie Foxx, but it is Peter Sarsgaard that steals the show, with a heartbreakingly subtle ghost of a performance.

This is definitely a must-see.