Jarhead

Jarhead is an unusual war film in that the only combat in it is amongst soldiers on the same side. It is set during the 1990-1 Gulf War, which was a one-sided affair and saw very little combat. The film follows a platoon of troops under the leadership of Sergeant Sykes. It illustrates the sort of things that affect a soldier on a daily basis when they're not fighting. One issue dwelt upon at length is the sexual frustration of being away from your partner and (in this case) from any women at all. The film alternates between jokes about wanking and more serious parts when soldiers receive malicious packages from their now-ex-girlfriends. The main character is Swoff, who is from a family of military men. He has a sensible head on his soldiers and does not appreciate the crazier aspect of army laddish culture. He is very worried that his girlfriend will cheat on him. The other main characters are Troy, who contrasts with Swoff in being eagar to engage in combat and kill somebody, and Fergus, who doesn't seem like the military sort and produces a lot of chaos when he falls asleep whilst his sausages are cooking.

The film does not have a clear political message. There is a politicised character in Kruger, but it is unclear whether the film's producers agree with him or not; he says at the outset that the war is all about protecting oil profits and he is the only one to refuse to sign a waiver of rights over untested drugs (allegedly to protect against Saddam's chemical weapons). The film is about the anti-climax for the soliders in the Gulf War (there must've been a similar anti-climax for soldiers in other wars, such as those who were sent to the Sudan during WWII and never fired a shot in anger). The soldiers become so frustrated that they read books about killing Arabs* and become furious when orders to shoot an enemy are rescinded. However, you get no indication from the film whether the writers and directors think the Gulf War was justified or not.

The film begins by telling you why each of the soldiers have joined, and ends by showing what happens to each after they leave the military (except Sergeant Sykes, who is shown in the Iraq War). I'm not sure whether this was deliberate or not, but I thought that this sent out the message that war does not necessarily scar you for life: some of them do come off badly after the Gulf War, but others are shown as happy and successful. James Meek has criticised the film for underplaying the horrors of war. I don't agree with him as there is a very significant scene where they discover a group of cars and carriages that have been bombed to cinders. Not many American troops died in the Gulf War, but plenty of people in Kuwait died in it. I think that wars in which fewer of our own troops die are forgotten more quickly. Kosovo was only 12 years ago, yet who speaks of that now?

I'm giving this 4 stars; it's not memorable enough to get 5. This is a film aimed at portrayed boredom and anti-climax: it does that well, but there's just no way of making 5-star entertainment out of boredom and anti-climax. I wouldn't have wanted it to last any more than it did, as the same few subjects are repeated throughout.

* The book is amusingly called Killing an Arab by Albert Camus. This is a reference to the Cure's song Killing an Arab, which is based on a scene in Albert Camus's book L'Etranger. However, the character in L'Etranger kills an Arab for no reason - that's the point of the book. In addition, Camus was a left-wing anti-racist. Still a funny reference.