2010’s “Green Zone“, directed by Paul Greengrass.
Starring Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Greg Kinnear,
Brendan Gleeson, and Jason Isaacs.
What is it about?
“Green Zone” is about the opening days of America’s year 1,
after the overthrow of Sadaam Hussein, where America was the legal occupying
power, and de facto government of Iraq. We meet a military unit (lead by Matt
Damon) who’s job is to look for Weapons of Mass Destruction. Damon continues to
come up empty in his search, and is brushed off by officials (overseen by Greg
Kinnear, representing the Pentagon). Damon is able to find support from a CIA
outlier (Brandon Gleeson), and gets invaluable help from an Iraqi (Khalid
Abdalla) to track down insurgents who contain valuable information about the
US’s reasons for invading Iraq in the first place. With journalist Amy Ryan
involved, will Damon and his select friends beat the rest of the army in the race to
uncover the truth?
Why is it worth seeing?
“Green Zone” is a bit of a coup- marketed as a military thriller,
it definitely has it’s moments of intensity. But what's special about it is it’s
showcasing the chicanery around the circumstances of why America invaded the
area of Mesopotamia. Based off of the 2006 book, “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” by Washington Post journalist, Rajiv
Chandrasekaran, it does a commendable job of showing the con that was sold to citizens
in the early 2000’s.
Director Paul Greengrass wanted to highlight the corruption,
ineptitude, and sheer greed that possessed American officials during the
takeover. He does a great job of showing the collateral damage that was
inflicted upon the populace, left to fend for themselves without power, running
water, or a military. In all of that, he inserts Damon, who has his military
objectives constantly thwarted by other grunts taking orders from an
indifferent Washington, D.C.
“Green Zone”’s attempts to showcase the chaos and hubris of
America’s imperialism are commendable, however, Greengrass’s liberal use of
shaky cam grows tiresome. And Damon’s character, functions as a type of
sermonizer that recall lectures from the sixth grade.
Despite this, Greengrass does a fine job of capturing the
spirit of the enforced misery of the American occupation, and can be a fine
starting point into understanding the religious and geopolitical factors
influencing the region BEFORE the U.S. stepped in. Considering the types of
movies that are typically made about
the U.S. military, it’s actually a bit of a miracle.
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