Generation Kill (2008)

Having seen the first series of The Wire and enjoying it muchly, I looked forward to Generation Kill – and I liked this even more than the former, which everyone seems to think is the second coming in terms of TV series. I’ll reserve my opinion until I’ve seen the next 4 seasons.

Generation Kill is much easier to evaluate, as it’s a self-contained 7-part mini-series rather than a 5-season commitment. Watching this Iraq-based drama not long after The Hurt Locker (2009), one of the best films I’ve seen this year, I continued in my appreciation and understanding of what life must be like for the (US) armed forces serving in a 21^st century war. BBC TV’s The Occupation (2009) miniseries told a similar story from the British perspective and was equally hard-hitting and thought provoking.

It was initially a bit hard to get a handle of Generation Kill’s use of military jargon and hierarchy – most of the time I could figure out what was being talked about, but I’m still a bit confused about the different ranks each character occupied. I think the DVD box set comes with a booklet with a glossary, but as I was watching the show on TV I didn’t have that advantage!

It was also difficult working out everyone’s names – the cast was huge and because this was all-male Marine Corps battalion hairstyles were all cropped and indistinguishable. There were a few faces I recognised – Alexander Skarsgard, who is now familiar to me from True Blood, James Ransone, who I know from a very revealing turn in Ken Park (2002), and Lee Tergesen, from Oz (1997-2003) and a memorable part in Rescue Me (2005) – but most of the cast was new to me. There were many fitty fitsters among them, but it’s hard to think of these uniform-wearing guys as hotties when some of them are killing innocent civilians.

Both The Hurt Locker and Generation Kill are based on real-life accounts of life in Iraq for the armed forces, so this adds more power to the stories of the men (and it’s only men here) that are depicted. The characterisations of the marines are varied, some are bored by the war, others are itching to kill something – their whisper-voiced commander is determined to be recognised as a key player and deliberately goes out of his way to place his men where they can see action, however dangerous this may be. The series ends on an incredibly poignant scene as the ‘victorious’ men all gather round to watch footage that one of their numbers has taken of their time in Iraq. They see the fun they’ve had, and also witness the death that they have followed and has followed them along their way, and gradually they all go quiet and, one by one, leave the room. Are they disgusted by what they’ve seen? Upset by their reactions? It’s not explained, and nor should it be. Much of the power of Generation Kill comes from the subtle characterisations – there’re no soap boxes here – the writers rely on the audience to draw their own conclusions and reactions to this terrible war.

Ice-Cold in Alex (1958)

What better way to ease into a weekend on a Saturday morning than with a black and white war film? Hmmm... Well that's how I began my day this morning. I like the watch the 'classics' of yesteryear, and I've no problem watching old movies, B&W or otherwise. I know some people are a bit sniffy about them, particularly in my generation, but it's nice to watch something without CGI and the trappings of modern Hollywood cinema. 

Ice-Cold in Alex is a jolly good British movie about a small group who are trying to cross the desert in an ambulance to get to Alex(andria), Egypt for an ice cold beer, hence the title. I never used to like war movies - they were something my dad always watched, and they were always boring. Then I grew up and realised some of them are actually worth the time to watch, particularly as I've become more interested in history, and know more about the World Wars. 

I'm not familiar with World War II as it pertains to North Africa though, so perhaps a better understanding of that theatre of war would have helped fill in some of the background of Alex. Without this background, however, the movie is still worth watching, and never boring. Sometimes I find that the mannered acting style and languid pace of older films can result in my mind wandering, but Alex contains performances and a plot that really kept my attention. 

The core cast of 4 includes John Mills and Sylvia Syms (who I've only just realised is the same Sylvia Syms who was in At Home With the Braithwaites [2000-03], and the excellent Victim [1961]) the only names/actors I recognised, plus Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews, and all are top notch. There's another woman, but her performance and tendency to get delirious about the war marked her out pretty easily as a character who wasn't destined to see the half-way mark, and I turned out to be correct in my judgement here. 

There are some fantastically tense scenes of the ambulance crossing a mine field; Anthony Quayle trapped in quicksand; and the exhausted group hand-cracking the ambulance backwards up a sand dune. The cast do an excellent job of looking hot, sweaty and knackered - I suspect because they were, due to filming in the Libyan desert.

Ice-Cold in Alex is a great British tale of underdogs triumphing over adversity, performed by a first rate cast in spectacular settings. It's also a movie that makes me think more about the experiences of war, and will encourage me to find out more about this period and place.