Hell and Back Again

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Movie
Original title Hell and Back Again
HellBackAgainLogo.png
Country of production USA , UK , Afghanistan
original language English , Pashtu , Dari
Publishing year 2011
length 88 minutes
Rod
Director Danfung Dennis
production Martin Herring
Mike Lerner
Dan Cogan
Karol Martesko window
Gernot Schaffler
Thomas Brunner
music Joshua Ralph
camera Danfung Dennis
cut Fiona Otway

Hell and Back Again is a documentary by Danfung Dennis from 2011. The film deals with the war in Afghanistan and the problematic transition of a US soldier from the war back to everyday life, as well as the topic of post-traumatic stress disorder in returning US soldiers.

The film premiered in January 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival , where the film received prizes in the categories World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary . On January 24, 2012, the film was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Documentary , but lost to the documentary Unbeaten .

background

The director Danfung Dennis had been working as a war photographer in Afghanistan since 2006 , but he was increasingly frustrated by photojournalism . He switched to "films and new media" to try to "wake up" the people in the USA to the topic of the Afghanistan war and to "show the brutal reality of the war in an honest way". Dennis had been filming for some time when he was given the opportunity to spend four weeks with the US Marines Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment in July 2009. The unit took part in the largest air mission since the Vietnam War. On the first day of the mission, he met Nathan Harris when he gave him his last bottle of water, despite the high temperatures. At first, the film was only focused on the situation in Afghanistan and was to be released under the title Battle for Hearts and Minds . Some of the footage from that time was used for Obama's War issue of the Frontline documentary series .

It wasn't until seven months later that Dennis decided to portray Harris as the main character in the documentary. When greeting the Marines after they returned home, Harris did not get off the bus, whereupon Dennis learned of Harris' wounding. He contacted Harris and Harris invited Dennis to his home. Dennis spent a total of a year with Harris and his wife.

action

Marines of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment at the start of Operation Khanjar

The focus of the documentary is on the story of 25-year-old Nathan Harris, a sergeant with the US Marines Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. Harris and his unit will be deposed in June 2009 as part of Operation Khanjar in the Afghan province of Helmand near the city of Sork-Duz. His unit's mission is to take a bridge. The unit is surrounded by enemies it cannot see and is moving slowly. The first day a Marine, Lance Corporal Charles Seth Sharp dies, and twelve collapse due to the temperatures up to 54  ° C .

Six months later, shortly before returning home, Harris was seriously injured in an ambush by a shot in the hip. After returning home to Yadkinville , North Carolina , Nathan Harris struggles to reunite with society. The film shows him and his wife Ashley in everyday situations: shopping at Wal-Mart , at a drive-in restaurant and looking for a new house. Harris' medical appointments and physical therapy are also shown. As a result of the injury, he developed a post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted in drug addiction . Harris' goal is to get back into combat despite the serious injury.

production

Visual style

The director Danfung Dennis at the Moscow International Film Festival (2011)

A total of around 100 hours of footage was created within six months. Dennis and film editor Fiona Otway worked closely together to create the visual style . They discussed their views on the war, and it became clear that the current picture and Dennis's experience were very different.

In order to create an "honest portrait of the war", Dennis combines the two storylines of the mission in Afghanistan and the situation of Nathan Harris in North Carolina in his documentary. He uses flashbacks to depict the “disorientation” and “emotional numbness” between “leaving a world of life or death” and “returning to a world that seems banal and superficial”. According to Dennis, it is "really just one fight" instead of two different ones. In another interview, he stated that he wanted to combine the “ ethics of photojournalism”, i.e. the pure observer role, with the “narrative of the film” in order to create a “penetrating, emotional experience”.

Danfung Dennis processed many personal experiences because he did not discuss his footage with Nathan Harris. Harris only got to see the film after it was finished.

Film technology

The documentation was filmed entirely with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II . This posed some challenges for Dennis, he specifically mentioned the sound, the image stabilization , the focus and the fact that the camera overheated within 15 minutes due to the high temperatures in Afghanistan. He converted his tripod so that it could carry advanced sound equipment and attach it to his armored vest. He also trained manual focus. Switching off the camera only helped against overheating. For his filming with Harris and his wife, he changed his equipment so that it was as compact as possible and the camera was not too conspicuous. He justified his decision for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II in an interview with the fact that he was able to combine the “aesthetics of photography” and “ethics of journalism” with the “ narrative of a documentary” to create an “impressive, comprehensive experience “To create.

In Afghanistan, Dennis used a zoom lens with a focal length of 24 to 70 mm, with a maximum f-number of 2.8. Dennis justified the choice of lenses with the "variety [that was necessary for] wide and narrow shots". In Yadkinville, he used two normal lenses . One lens with a focal length of 35 mm, with a maximum aperture of 1.4 and a second with a focal length of 50 mm and a maximum aperture of 1.2. Due to the high aperture, he was able to film in low-light situations.

volume

There is no music in the classical sense in the film. However, Dennis used real noises as background music, which he recorded in Afghanistan and in some cases significantly changed (see also Musique concrète ). A scene in the film in which a village is being secured is underlaid with war noises that have been slowed down to 2% of their original speed. This results in a "continuous roar". Dennis used the same roar when backing up a conversation between Harris and his doctor about the dangers of pain medication. He tries to "let the line between the present and the past be blurred by [the] sound alone". Dennis explained that Harris' flashbacks "often start with a sound". He tries to “convey what it feels like to really have a flashback”.

Just as he worked closely with editor Fiona Otway on editing, the sound is a collaboration between Dennis and sound designer J. Ralph . Ralph also wrote the song "Hell And Back," which can be heard during the credits. The interpreter of the piece is Willie Nelson .

reception

publication

The film was released for theaters on October 5, 2011, having previously screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and 2011 Moscow International Film Festival. On the first weekend, the film fetched 3,413 US dollars , although it only ran in a cinema at first. In total, the film grossed $ 40,634. The distribution rights for North America are owned by Docurama Films , which released the documentary on January 24, 2012 on Blu-Ray and DVD . Public Broadcasting Service secured the broadcasting rights for television . There the documentary was broadcast on May 24, 2012 as part of the film series Independent Lens . The film was also screened at the Hot Docs Film Festival and between August 24, 2012 and August 31, 2012 at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, Canada. The film was released in the UK on October 12, 2011, followed by France on December 21, 2011. The UK reported box office earnings of $ 315. In addition to the cinema releases in Great Britain and France, the documentary was broadcast several times on the Spanish channel Canal + in April and September 2012.

In 2012 and 2013, the only screenings of the documentary in German-speaking countries took place in Austria at the frame [o] ut freestyle film festival and at the Kitzbühel film festival.

Reviews

The film received extremely positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes lists a total of 27 reviews, all of which were positive. The documentation's metascore is 81 out of 100, based on 17 reviews.

The film critic Roger Ebert sums up that the documentary presents "[Harris'] a new reality with an astonishingly good use of image and sound processing". The final scenes developed "an emotional and stylistic force that [the audience] does not see coming". He therefore rates the film three and a half stars out of four possible stars. Linda Barnard gives the same rating in a review for the Toronto Star , where she certifies Dennis to treat Harris' story with the "objectivity of a journalist", although it was "emotionally shocking". VA Musetto, a reviewer for the New York Post , rates the film three out of four stars and calls the documentary “daring”. The footage is "often overwhelming". For Wesley Morris, film critic of The Boston Globe , the film is "an ingenious, artistic disturbance". Dennis' film tries what few documentaries would manage: to live in the psyche of the subject. Still, the film doesn't pretend to know exactly what Harris thinks. Alison Willmore compares the documentary with Deadly Command - The Hurt Locker in a review for The AV Club . Willmore calls Hell and Back Again a Vérité piece with "almost distracting beauty" and gives the film a B grade . Two reviews of the newspapers The Observer and The Guardian agree with the positive tenor. Philip French says the film is "deeply moving" and Peter Bradshaw says the film is not holding back. Bradshaw awards four out of five stars.

Chris Knight of the National Post has a more mixed opinion . He feels manipulated by Dennis' editing technique. The transitions are "cinematically effective", but felt "emotionally manipulating". It is not clear to him how Harris changed, making the film only "two thirds of a picture" and crying out for a "prelapsarian [before the fall of man] prologue". Lauren Wissot, critic for Slant Magazine , also criticizes the editing technique and describes it as sometimes "distracting and obvious", but the documentation is a "universal soldier's story". Both critics gave the film two and a half stars out of four.

Awards

At the 2011 Sundance Film Festival , the film won the jury's award and the camera award for the best foreign documentary. The film also won the award for best documentary at the Moscow International Film Festival 2011. In addition, the documentary has received awards at several smaller film festivals and award ceremonies. The film won the IDA Award in the Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Filmmaker Award category , the Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement In Cinematography , the Alfred I. duPont – Columbia University Award 2012 and the Harrell Award for Best Documentary at the Camden International Film Festival 2011.

In addition to the prizes won, the documentary was nominated at several film festivals and award ceremonies. The documentary received nominations for Best Documentary at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Independent Film Awards, and British Independent Film Awards . The film was nominated in four categories at the Cinema Eye Honors, with the film winning in the Outstanding Achievement In Cinematography category . The additional categories were Outstanding Achievement In Direction , Best Debut Feature and Outstanding Achievement In Production .

On January 24, 2012, the film was nominated for an Oscar in the category of best documentary , but lost to the US entry Unbeaten . In response to the nomination, producer Mike Lerner received a congratulatory letter from British Prime Minister David Cameron .

Hell and Back Again won the Grierson Award 2012 in the category Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - International on November 6, 2012 . On July 11, 2013, the documentary was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy Award due to its broadcast as part of the Independent Lens program series .

Veterans

To publish the documentation, the veterans organization Disabled American Veterans started an awareness campaign about post-traumatic stress disorder. Similarly, the Still Serving Veterans organization used the film to raise awareness for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder by holding a public screening of Hell and Back Again . The Florida State University showed the film at a special "Veterans Day", which marked the beginning of an initiative for a veteran-friendly university. At the same time, the film was the start of a “Student Veteran Film Festival”. Danfung Dennis, producer Karol Martesko-Fenster , as well as Nathan Harris and Ashley Harris took part in the screening . The University of Iowa Veterans Association also organized a screening of the documentation.

Leanne Lemley, President of the Women's Division of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Association , mentioned Hell and Back Again in a speech about returning soldiers. She called the transition from war to everyday life "difficult", as it was "recently [shown] in all its gloomy glory in documentaries like Hell and Back Again ".

Web links

Commons : Marines of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment in the Afghan War  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Caroline Frost: British Team Behind 'Hell And Back Again' Ready For Oscar Night After Best Documentary Nomination , Huffington Post, January 25, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013
  2. ^ Fiona Otway: Projects , accessed August 14, 2013
  3. ↑ Eric Hynes: 2011 Festival Awards , Sundance Film Festival, January 29, 2011, accessed August 14, 2014
  4. ↑ a b c d Hell and Back Again: Press Notes ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 867 kB), accessed on August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / hellandbackagain.com
  5. ↑ Lauren Feeney: Hell and Back Again: Telling True Stories of War , February 24, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013
  6. ↑ Michael Kamber: Hell and Back Again , The New York Times: Lens, September 27, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  7. ↑ National Public Radio : To 'Hell And Back,' With A Marine And His Wife , October 18, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  8. ↑ hellandbackagain.com: More about the film , accessed August 14, 2013
  9. ↑ a b Brandon Harris: DANFUNG DENNIS, “HELL AND BACK AGAIN” , November 15, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  10. ↑ a b Nigel M. Smith: INTERVIEW | "Hell and Back Again" Director Danfung Dennis on Capturing War and All That Comes After , Indiewire, October 6, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  11. ↑ a b Kevin Ritchie: Oscars 2012: Danfung Dennis on “Hell and Back Again” , realscreen, February 24, 2012, accessed on August 14, 2013
  12. ↑ Adam Schartoff: Director Danfung Dennis on 'Hell and Back Again' , Public Broadcasting Service, October 13, 2011 Retrieved on August 14, 2013
  13. ↑ Charlotte Cook: HELL AND BACK AGAIN TRAILER , The Documentary Blog, July 21, 2010, accessed August 14, 2013
  14. ↑ Briefing Room: Canon HD Digital SLR Cameras Provide Documentary Filmmakers With Creative Freedom ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Broadcast Engineering, September 5, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / broadcastengineering.com
  15. ↑ Noah Nelson: A Soldier's Story Set To Gunfire In 'Hell And Back' , National Public Radio, October 9, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  16. ↑ Box Office Mojo : Hell and Back Again , accessed August 14, 2013
  17. ↑ Docurama: Hell and Back Again Directed by Danfung Dennis , accessed August 14, 2013
  18. ^ Independent Television Service: Hell and Back Again , accessed August 14, 2013
  19. ↑ Hot Docs: Hell And Back Again ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hotdocs.ca
  20. ↑ The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema: August 2012 (PDF; 1.8 MB), accessed on August 14, 2013
  21. ^ Filmdates UK: Hell and Back Again , accessed August 14, 2013
  22. ↑ Allocine: Hell and Back Again , accessed August 14, 2013
  23. ↑ Box Office Mojo: HELL AND BACK AGAIN: Foreign Box Office , accessed August 14, 2013
  24. ↑ Canal + ES: HELL AND BACK AGAIN (IDA Y VUELTA AL INFIERNO) ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / canalplus.es
  25. ↑ Museumsquartier Wien: frameout freestyle: WE'LL BECOME OIL / HELL AND BACK AGAIN ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 31, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mqw.at
  26. ↑ Kitzbühel Film Festival: Hell and Back Again ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 31, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ffkb.at
  27. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes: Hell and Back Again , accessed August 14, 2013
  28. ↑ Metacritic: Hell and Back Again , accessed August 14, 2013
  29. ↑ Roger Ebert: HELL AND BACK AGAIN (UNRATED) , Chicago Sun-Times, February 22, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013
  30. ↑ Linda Barnard: Hell and Back Again review: War at home is hell, too , Toronto Star, August 23, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013
  31. ^ VA Musetto: Afghan aftermath , New York Post, October 5, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  32. ↑ Wesley Morris: 'Hell and Back Again,' presents war flashbacks from different perspective ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2013) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Boston Globe, January 6, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / articles.boston.com
  33. ↑ Alison Willmore: Hell And Back Again , AV Club, October 6, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  34. ↑ Philip French: Hell and Back Again - review , The Observer, October 16, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  35. ↑ Peter Bradshaw, Hell and Back Again - review , The Guardian, October 13, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  36. ↑ Chris Knight: Review: The real-life trauma of Hell and Back Again ( Memento of the original from January 29, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , National Post, August 23, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / arts.nationalpost.com
  37. ↑ Lauren Wissot: Movie Review: Hell and Back Again , Slant Magazine, October 2, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  38. ↑ Brooke Shelby Biggs: UK Prime Minister Hopes for a Hell and Back Again Oscar Win , Public Broadcasting Service, January 24, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013
  39. ↑ Grierson Trust: Grierson 2012: Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - International ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 20, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.griersontrust.org
  40. ↑ The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: NOMINEES FOR THE 34th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 11, 2013, accessed August 20, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.emmyonline.org
  41. ^ Rob Lewis, Film Shows 'Hell' of War, Recovery , Disabled American Veterans, accessed August 14, 2013
  42. ↑ WHNT News: Still Serving Veterans To Host 'Hell & Back Again' On June 14 , June 6, 2012, accessed on 14 August 2013
  43. ↑ The Florida State University: Florida State University announces initiatives to create most veteran-friendly campus in nation , October 26, 2011, accessed August 14, 2013
  44. ↑ Barry Ray: FSU kicks off inaugural Student Veteran Film Festival with acclaimed documentary 'Hell and Back Again' , November 11, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013
  45. ↑ University of Iowa Veterans Service: Film Screening: Hell and Back Again (2012) ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 14, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / veterans.uiowa.edu
  46. ↑ Jessica Crandall: VFW leader urges soldiers to join  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 30, 2012, accessed August 14, 2013@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.localnews8.com  
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 27, 2013 .