Restrepo (2010)

Directors:

Tim Hetherington
Sebastian Junger

Release Date:

18 February 2011 (Poland)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Tagline:

One platoon, one valley, one year

Plot:

A year with one platoon in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan.

Plot Keywords:

Platoon | Afghanistan | Valley | Soldier | Taliban

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

The Men of Battle Company 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team	...	Themselves
Juan 'Doc Restrepo	...	Himself
Dan Kearney	...	Himself
LaMonta Caldwell	...	Himself
Aron Hijar	...	Himself
Misha Pemble-Belkin	...	Himself
Miguel Cortez	...	Himself
Sterling Jones	...	Himself
Brendan O'Byrne	...	Himself
Joshua McDonough	...	Himself
Kyle Steiner	...	Himself
Angel Toves	...	Himself
Mark Patterson	...	Himself
Stephen Gillespie	...	Himself
Marc Solowski	...	Himself
Kevin Rice	...	Himself
Tanner Sichter	...	Himself
William Ostlund	...	Himself

Directed by
Tim Hetherington
Sebastian Junger

Produced by
John Battsek	....	executive producer
Tim Hetherington	....	producer
Sebastian Junger	....	producer
Nick Quested	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Tim Hetherington
Sebastian Junger

Film Editing by
Michael Levine

Production Management
Mike Harrop	....	post-production supervisor
Gretchen McGowan	....	head of production: Goldcrest Production Services

Sound Department
Coll Anderson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Coll Anderson	....	supervising sound editor
Stephen Barden	....	dialogue editor
Grahame Davies	....	sound mixer: additional
Paul Miller	....	sound assistant: weapons specialist (as OFC Paul Miller)
Matt Snedecor	....	sound effects editor
Michael Suarez	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Jake Clennell	....	director of photography: Itaky
Brendan O'Byrne	....	additional camera operator
Misha Pemble-Belkin	....	additional camera operator
Rudy Varner	....	additional camera operator
Teun Voeten	....	additional camera operator
Derek Wiesehahn	....	camera operator: Italy

Editorial Department
Alex Albers	....	post-production intern
Timothy Baker	....	post-production intern
Meghna Damani	....	post-production intern
Anja Dornieden	....	post-production intern
John Dowdell	....	colorist
Kathryn Drury	....	post-production intern
Alex Godin	....	post-production intern
Peter Heady	....	digital intermediate finishing artist
Jeremy Kaplan	....	post-production intern
Jean Lane	....	digital intermediate producer
Christy MacKarrell	....	digital intermediate finishing artist
Corinne Manabat	....	post-production intern
William Michals	....	post-production intern
Maya Mumma	....	associate editor
Meredith Patten	....	post-production intern
Adele Pham	....	post-production intern
Trina Rodriguez	....	post-production intern
Jeanne Sison	....	digital intermediate producer
Jeff Smithwick	....	color timer
Tim Spitzer	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Elizabeth Walter	....	post-production intern
Chloe Walters-Wallace	....	post-production intern
Carl Ayala	....	assistant on-line editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ruy García	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Victor Barroso	....	titles and credits: Worlds Away Productions
Marc Chamin	....	legal service: Outpost Films, Loeb & Loeb
Sinead Duell	....	business manager: Outpost Films
Richard Koenigsberg	....	accountant: Outpost Films
Ben Lay	....	head technician
Márcia Nunes	....	production coordinator: Goldcrest Production Services
Karen Shatzkin	....	additional legal services: Outpost Filmms

Thanks
Brian Beckno	....	special thanks (as Major Brian Beckno)
Graydon Carter	....	special thanks
Tony Gerber	....	thanks
Donna Gutkin	....	thanks
Miles Levine	....	thanks
Simon Levine	....	thanks
Andrew Mumma	....	thanks
Karen Schmeer	....	thanks
Jonathan Stack	....	thanks
Nicole Stott	....	thanks
Doug Stumpf	....	thanks
Jamie Wellford	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Outpost Films
• Virgil Films & Entertainment (DVD)

Distributors

• National Geographic Entertainment (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dogwoof Pictures (2010) (UK) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• National Geographic Channel (2010) (worldwide) (TV)
• National Geographic Channel (2011) (USA) (TV)
• Virgil Films & Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Fredell Pogodin and Associates  Publicity
• Goldcrest Post Production New York  post-production
• Loeb & Loeb  legal service: Outpost Films
• Worlds Away Productions  titles and credits

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language throughout including some descriptions of violence

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46090) | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Afghanistan

Company:

Outpost Films

Trivia:

Co-director of Restrepo, Tim Hetherington, was killed on April 20, 2011 while covering the conflict in Libya.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 83rd Annual Academy Awards (2011) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Touch Me

A heart-wrenching documentary

This is where documentary filmmaking becomes serious. Whatever you are expecting out of this film, chances are you will get a whole lot more. Restrepo follows a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan who are defending a valley, Korgengal. It is said to be one of the most dangerous valleys in the entire country and these brave men take fire every single day of their brutal campaign. This is a riveting film and it is one of those that you cannot shake. It gives you a glance into the absolute darkest depths of modern warfare and just how demanding the fighting is both physically and mentally. It is a film that gives you a rare look into the horrors of war. And it is absolutely astounding.

Restrepo is shot at a very personal level. The camera never intrudes on the soldiers during their work, and thank God considering some of the harrowing things they go through in this movie. This film hardly even feels like a documentary in the sense of what we think of documentary today. It is filled with interviews, but the bulk of the movie is truly documenting the lives of these soldiers. We get to see all sides of the emotional spectrum that can be afflicted through trauma. We get to look at how different people cope with such horrors as are experienced in this film. And it is all through such respectful eyes. I never once thought, 'Wow, they should really stop filming this.' Every moment of the film feels so important and the fact that all this was so clearly and eloquently caught on camera is astounding.

The unequivocally greatest thing about this film is the fact that it has absolutely no political agenda. It really has no alternative motive other than telling the story of these incredibly brave soldiers. The film only seeks to honor the brave men who served our country in the most dangerous area imaginable. This film isn't for the political leaders responsible for the war. It isn't for the military commanders that send these soldiers into battle. This movie is for the soldiers themselves. It is a true soldier's film in every sense. It has a very stern focus on the individual. It makes such an important point out of this aspect that it could have possibly gone even further. There are a lot of men in this platoon and thus we don't get to know any one person particularly well. We get to know the platoon well as a whole and how each man interacts with his fellow soldiers and how they all deal with loss and tragedy. Each individual soldier in this movie is important and the movie strives to show how meaningful that is. It is a remarkably important aspect of the film.

You won't see many documentaries like this, and there's probably a good reason for this. The kind of footage captured in Restrepo isn't easy to get and you have to be just as brave as the soldiers themselves if you are to accompany them into battle to document their bravery. But thankfully when the opportunity to get such unforgettable footage arose, it was all put together extremely well. This is not an easy film to watch, but in the end it is so remarkably worth it.