Occupation: Dreamland dvd movie.|
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List Price: $24.98 Our Price: $21.99 You Save: $2.99 Features • Color • DVD-Video • Subtitled • Widescreen • NTSC In Theaters : 2005 DVD Release : 07 March, 2006 |
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Occupation: Dreamland description Many Americans drive around with "Support Our Troops" stickers affixed to their vehicles, and if Occupation: Dreamland is any indication, the men and women who are serving their country in Iraq could certainly use it. Filmed in early 2004, director-editor Ian Olds' documentary (for which he was given full access by the U.S. authorities) follows a group of soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed in al-Falluja (also known as Falloujah), Iraq's "city of mosques," where their mission is to maintain the peace and root out insurgents, but their goal is simply to survive their tours of duty and go home. Many of these young men, a lot of them poor and under-educated, joined the military because they lacked viable career or life alternatives; once stationed in Iraq, they clearly wonder why they are there ("What exactly are we protecting?" asks one. "I don't know"). Their daily lives, at least as depicted rather matter-of-factly by Olds, seem to consist of stretches of drudgery punctuated by occasional outbursts of gunfire and dangerous activity, along with meetings in which officers try to persuade them to re-enlist once their contracts expire. Although there are snipers and bombers around, we don't witness any casualties (filming was completed before the Marines laid bloody siege to al-Falluja in April of that same year). Instead, what we see is an uneasy co-existence between locals who don't want them there ("America can go to the moon and make nuclear rockets," says one Iraqi, "but it can't make the people") and soldiers who are duty-bound to fulfill their missions and understand why they are mistrusted, but have little sympathy for those they are supposed to help ("I hate these people," mutters one). They may call their base of operations "Dreamland" (it's actually an abandoned Ba'athist retreat), but for most of these guys, "nightmare" might be more appropriate. --Sam Graham |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Most honest Iraq documentary |
| This film really shows the average experiences of the infantry in Iraq. I am a Soldier with 2 tours in Iraq and there is no other documentary that covers the war that I can relate to like this. It follows a squad from the 82nd Airborne on their day to day lives pulling missions in Fallujah. It really gives you a feel what it is like to deal with the Iraqis and the soldier's feelings on it. From combat missions to reenlistment briefings this film puts you in the lower enlisted and junior NCO's shoes.
A lot of the other reviews were saying things about it being anti-war and I completely disagree. You get a lot of honest comments from the Soldier's and Iraqi civilians, it's honesty, not anti-war. It's funny how combat troops on the ground have more empathy for people that are potentially trying to kill them than Americans 10,000 miles away. A few other films that cover this war that are worth watching; Combat Diary The Marines of Lima CO, this is an unfortunate story and every American should hear it. These Marines dealt with the worst case scenerio and somehow drove on. Gunner Palace, this film shows how support troops live in Iraq. These guys are an embarrassment to the US Army, however it is still acurate on how a lot of troops live in Iraq |
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