Tuesday January 31 at 7:00pm
Operation:
Dreamland
Garrett
Scott and Ian Olds, 2005, USA, video, 78 mins, color
Filmmakers
and former soldiers present for Q and A
An
unflinchingly candid portrait of a squad of American soldiers
deployed in the doomed Iraqi city of Falluja during the winter
of 2004, Occupation: Dreamland chronicles the daily
grind of young recruits as they patrol an environment of low-intensity
conflict creeping steadily towards catastrophe. The film documents
the city’s waning stability before a final series of military
assaults began in the spring of 2004 that effectively destroyed
it.
A real opportunity to see the war from a soldier’s perspective,
Occupation: Dreamland provides an intimate examination
of the escalating tension in the unstable region. The
narrative follows a downward spiral of civil destabilization
and personal frustration, borne by individuals trapped on both
sides of the conflict, and unflinchingly addresses the soldiers’
operational and moral ambivalence about the war effort itself.
Filmmakers Garrett Scott and Ian Olds were given access to all
operations of the Army’s 82nd Airborne. They lived with the
unit 24/7, giving voice to soldiers held under a strict code
of authority as they cope with an ambiguous, often lethal environment.
The result is a revealing, sometimes surprising look at Army
life, operations and the complexity of American war in the 21st
century.
$10
general admission; available one hour before showtime the Box
Office.
"Occupation:
Dreamland recalls Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, except
with real kids." - Adam Sternbergh, New York
Magazine
“A respectful and determinedly nonpartisan portrait of regular
guys…all doing their best to carry out inchoate orders in an
untenable situation.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York
Times
“A grunt’s eye view of the current situation that needs to be
seen, regardless of a viewer’s political persuasion.” -
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"The
terrific Occupation: Dreamland, a fair-minded grunt's eye view
of the war in Iraq that trusts the audience to draw its own
conclusions." - Joshua Land, Village Voice
"By giving these men a forum even before Falluja became
a household name and showing what has been conspicously absent
from our tv screens - actual footage of the conflict - the [directors]
have made something far chewier than the usual bumper-sticker
polemics." - David Frear, Time Out New York
"You love the filmmakers...for their open love and respect
for the young men."
-
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
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