Exploring combat and its effects in Afghanistan documentary 'Korengal'
- 10 years ago
‘Korengal’ is a second documentary from the maker of the 2010 film ‘Restrepo’.
The setting is again the war in Afghanistan and the same valley where ‘Restrepo’ was filmed.
It is one year later, but the concerns are different. This time, director Sebastian Junger explores what effects war has on soldiers.
He explained: “What I wanted to do with ‘Korengal’ is inquire more deeply into the experience of combat and its effects. And after the deployment I asked soldiers things like, ‘What does courage mean to you, what is the word courage?’ A lot of the guys were missing the war, so I asked, ‘Why do you miss the war?’ and ‘Why do you want to go back?’.”
The film was shot between May 2007 and June 2008, with British co-director Tim Hetherington, the photographer who was killed while reporting from the Libyan revolution in 2011.
“One of the things that I wanted to communicate with this film is that combat is a lot of things. It’s not just one thing. It’s very exciting for everybody. It’s very scary for everybody. It’s incredibly meaningful. It is very, very sad if you stop to think about what you’re doing. It’s everything. And I don’t even know if I would dare say it’s good or it’s bad. It’s just everything and that mix is morally confusing to soldiers but also, you know, quite intoxicating,” said Junger.
More information at IMDB
The setting is again the war in Afghanistan and the same valley where ‘Restrepo’ was filmed.
It is one year later, but the concerns are different. This time, director Sebastian Junger explores what effects war has on soldiers.
He explained: “What I wanted to do with ‘Korengal’ is inquire more deeply into the experience of combat and its effects. And after the deployment I asked soldiers things like, ‘What does courage mean to you, what is the word courage?’ A lot of the guys were missing the war, so I asked, ‘Why do you miss the war?’ and ‘Why do you want to go back?’.”
The film was shot between May 2007 and June 2008, with British co-director Tim Hetherington, the photographer who was killed while reporting from the Libyan revolution in 2011.
“One of the things that I wanted to communicate with this film is that combat is a lot of things. It’s not just one thing. It’s very exciting for everybody. It’s very scary for everybody. It’s incredibly meaningful. It is very, very sad if you stop to think about what you’re doing. It’s everything. And I don’t even know if I would dare say it’s good or it’s bad. It’s just everything and that mix is morally confusing to soldiers but also, you know, quite intoxicating,” said Junger.
More information at IMDB