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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Jose Antonio Gutierrez was the first 'American' soldier killed in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was lionized as a war hero by the Marine Corps and by the American media (especially the gung-ho Wall Street Journal), but the truth was that he was killed by friendly fire and wasn't American at all. In fact, he was a Guatemalan immigrant who came to the United States illegally at the tender age of 14. His tragic tale is retold in this brutally frank German documentary, which traces his journey from his poverty stricken birthplace to a new land, where his status as a rootless working class male of a certain age made him easy pickings for military recruiters. If war truly is a force that gives us meaning, Exhibit A could be Jose Antonio Gutierrez, whose troubled life ended in an illegal war fought on behalf of a nation that constantly demonises immigrants whilst relying on them for cheap labour and cannon fodder. The film is not in the least bit sensational--it doesn't need to be--but feels a little long at 90 minutes.
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