The Hurt Locker.

It came out last summer and I missed it at the time but thanks to its epic Oscar win, it was rereleased so I finally managed to catch Kathryn Bigelow's latest.

I remember that I went to see Black Hawk Down a few years ago and it had very good reviews saying that Ridley Scott had filmed war unlike anyone before. I completely hated that movie, so I guess that made the cinematography less impressive than it probably was, but I thought that treating the Somalis like nothing more than waves of aliens was utterly shocking. When the subject is "proper" war, I just expect more substance, more gravita. Real people are killed, it's not to be taken lightly.

The Hurt Locker does the exact opposite. Firmly anchored on its characters, depicting how each copes (or doesn't) with the stress of war. No heroism, or faked manly friendship (they're all on a job), as you often see. That makes it very unusual in this genre and almost "un-hollywoodian", which makes the flurry of Oscars not only more surprising but also more satisfying.

And here, Bigelow DOES film the war like no one before. Close to the action, making you feel right there, almost experiencing the rush, the paranoia. It is an incredibly tense movie.
There are no big battles, but still the "action" scenes will be worth your while, most notably an incredible sniper exchange. But none of this is glorified, always grounded in reality.
It could almost feel like a documentary actually.

What's striking as well is how the movie manages to define characters exactly in just a few frames. It is quite surprising that Guy Pearce, David Morse & Ralph Fiennes only really have a scene each. But just in that time, their characters exist and matter to the rest. Not a lot of movies can do that.

With the same subtelty, you also get a picture of the more global context, the situation of the locals, despite the fact that all is told through the soldier's perspective. And you're left with a lot of questions to ponder.
But on the other hand, with the chaos described here, how could people not turn mad?

It echoes a bit with Jarhead, although they explore very different themes (Jarhead deals more with the "dehumanising" process that turns people into soldiers, while Hurt Locker is more about their day to day life). A lot might be down to the identical setting.

But as war movies go, this one is a must. On every count.