The war in Iraq has been the subject of
an increasing number of movies. While some deal with the politics,
some put you right on the frontline of it all. Some are realistic
true-story depictions of that war ("Generation Kill"),
while others are pure fictional action movies ("Green Zone").
On this background, HBO and writer/director Ross Katz made "Taking
Chance", a somewhat unique
movie on this topic.
Kevin Bacon plays
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a United States Marine Corps officer. Strobl
had fought in the first Gulf War, but during the second one, he chose
to work as a strategic analyst at the Quantico Marine Core Base. This
decision upsets him. He feel a lot of of guilt for not doing his
part. As an expression of that guilt, he checks the casualty lists
daily, until one day he finds a young man's name from his hometown of
Clifton Colorado. PFC Chance Phelps. He decides to volunteer as a
funeral escort for the soldier's body. What this escort duty means is
that Strobl must follow the body all the way from the military
mortuary in Minneapolis, to Chance's hometown (which he discovers was
actually Dubois, Wyoming), verifying the handling of the casket every
time it has to be moved, and ultimately surrender the body and
personal belongings to his family. Attending the actual funeral is
optional, but the moment this instruction is mentioned to Strobl, I
had a feeling he would attend it.
The story is
inspired by a 12-page narrative essay written by Strobl (who co-wrote
this movie as well) based on a diary he kept and follows his
week-long trip and experiences. We ourselves become a part of this
sad procession, and despite the heartbreaking subject matter, I
couldn't help but fall in admiration of how the marine funeral detail
works and the dedication of the people involved. For example, the
movie shows us a glimpse of how the military mortuary personnel
cleans up the personal belongings of PFC Phelps and the attention and
respect with which they handle both them and his body are surreal.
Further more, throughout the trip, Strobl meets people who express
their respect and admiration for the fallen soldier in ways that left
me speechless. Almost made me think there's hope for humanity. The
movie, however, never descends into gratuitous melodrama, but instead
presents us with a natural sense of human drama in a way that
surprises us and catches us off-guard, despite its apparent
predictability.
We never see
Phelps. There are no flashbacks, we don't see his body. Yet, he
becomes a character in this movie, as if he were still alive before
out eyes, though all we ever see is the metal box that carries him.
What we do learn about him is communicated through interactions with
some supporting character. We learn how he died, what kind of man he
was, but, in the end we acknowledge that we will never really know
this young man. One war veteran tells a conflicted Strobl : "You
are his witness now. Without a witness, they disappear". Through
this movie, we too become witnesses. It's a moving and painful
experience, but a valuable one at the same time.
The movie is short,
at just 75 minutes (77 with credits), but every minute is used to
good effect. The script tightly focuses on the subject matter and
manages to avoid any kind of political statements, or cheap emotional
manipulation. It simply observes the events and allows the moments to
speak out to us. Kevin Bacon shows tremendous restraint and focus,
crafting a subtle and touching portrait of Mike Strobl. He won a
Golden Globe for his performance, but it made me wish this movie had
been released theatrically. Then, maybe, he could have had a chance
at the Oscars. He's that good.
The movie is
terribly sad, so I would hardly recommend watching this on a bright
summer day. Instead, choose to see it when you feel like weighing in
on some tough issues. It might not be for everyone, but I just have
to recommend it anyway.
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