Jarhead 2005

The training sequence is engaging. It almost feels like a coming of age story, pero military training version. You see them slowly stripped down and rebuilt into something else. Visually, the shots feel too hot and overexposed, which I get is intentional. It really sells the heat and discomfort. Ang ganda nung shot ng mga trucks coming in defensive position, blurred because of the heat. Yung distortion na parang may heat haze. It works really well here because it makes the environment feel hostile and unreal. I like the electric guitar strumming used as the beat. It gives the film a certain attitude, very masculine, very restless. There are also some really beautiful visuals. The silhouette shot during sunset is especially striking. Ang rowdy nila. Ito talaga yung “boys will be boys” energy. Loud, aggressive, immature, but also bonded in a strange way. When they finally go to war, there is a sense of frustration. Some shots feel CGI, especially the oil fire scenes. I am not sure if those columns of fire are real or enhanced, but while the silhouettes look great, classic Roger Deakins, it sometimes feels a bit gimmicky. The most interesting part for me is the irony. They trained so hard, all that discipline and conditioning, and yet they never really get to fire their weapons in combat. They want to kill so badly, not because of hatred, but because that is what they were trained for. Imagine preparing your whole identity around war and never being allowed to complete it. That emptiness and frustration is really what Jarhead is about.