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Restrepo

Play trailer Poster for Restrepo R 2010 1h 33m Documentary Biography History Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
97% Tomatometer 117 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Photographer Tim Hetherington and journalist Sebastian Junger allow the realities of war to speak for themselves in this unnarrated documentary about a U.S. platoon in Afghanistan. The men of Second Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade teeter from naivete to weariness as months of alternating boredom and fighting take their toll. The loss of medic Juan "Doc" Restrepo leads the platoon to name an outpost in the remote Korengal Valley after him.

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Restrepo

Restrepo

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Critics Consensus

Forsaking narrative structure for pure visceral power, Restrepo plunges viewers into the experiences of soldiers on the front lines of the Afghan War.

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Critics Reviews

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Nicolas Rapold Film Comment Magazine 11/13/2013
its most emotionally raw moments are indicative of their military subjects' exceptional comfort level with their observers ( ... ) the arid yet woody outcroppings high above the valley are an intriguing new terrain Go to Full Review
Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 10/12/2010
B+
Captures the complex human face of modern warfare. Go to Full Review
Sukhdev Sandhu Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/08/2010
3/5
Restrepo is an exercise in visceral intimacy. Go to Full Review
Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com 09/21/2020
3.5/4.0
Junger and Hetherington have created one of 2010's best documentaries and an easy frontrunner for an Best Documentary Oscar Award this year. Go to Full Review
Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site 08/18/2020
Hetherington thinks...this can be done without calling the war by its proper name, which greatly weakens his endeavor, despite all the heroics and good intentions... Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter 06/10/2020
Junger and Hetherington create the doc equivalent of this year's gripping war movie The Hurt Locker, as they embed us in the boredom, sheer chaotic terror and macho camaraderie of soldiers from the Second Platoon... Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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What to Watch M Feb 15 Restrepo delivers a gut-punch of raw emotion, pulling us into the fraught world of U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley without the gloss or polish of typical Hollywood war narratives. The filmmakers deserve credit for shedding light on the visceral, unvarnished realities our troops faced—fear, camaraderie, and the sheer grind of survival in a place where danger lurks behind every ridge. Yet, while the combat scenes are gripping, their frantic editing leaves us feeling just as disoriented as the soldiers, a likely intention but one that sacrifices clarity for chaos. And then there’s the ending—an abrupt fadeout that feels less like a closing statement and more like being kicked out of a conversation mid-sentence. Restrepo excels at making us feel, but it stops short of tying those feelings into something more reflective or definitive. Still, for what it shows us—confusion, exhaustion, and the human cost of war—it’s a critical piece of cinema, even if its narrative resolution is MIA. 7.1/10 See more Pierre L 01/02/2023 The fact is that no negociation with the evil is useful. The only alternative is the helleno-buddhic reconquest of the pure land. This is the way. See more 09/22/2021 This is what it really looks like out there. Documentaries should have less narration like this one, it feels much less biased that way. They are just showing you what happens out there. See more 02/06/2020 this was one of the best, if not the best, war documentaries I've ever seen. Everyone should see this to get an idea of what these men go through. And don't forget to see the second documentary that follows up with them after they are out of the army. See more 12/09/2019 Restrepo is a great documentary with a great insight on how the men were living in a combat area. Its a unique documentary with lots of emotions and feelings. I recommend this documentary for those who love to see how soliders are living in a area full of enemies. See more 06/07/2019 A soldier's life is never easy. The documentary show the things they face, their dramas and, most importantly, their humanity. See more Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Photographer Tim Hetherington and journalist Sebastian Junger allow the realities of war to speak for themselves in this unnarrated documentary about a U.S. platoon in Afghanistan. The men of Second Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade teeter from naivete to weariness as months of alternating boredom and fighting take their toll. The loss of medic Juan "Doc" Restrepo leads the platoon to name an outpost in the remote Korengal Valley after him.
Director
Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Producer
Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Distributor
National Geographic
Production Co
Outpost Films
Rating
R (Some Descriptions of Violence|Language Throughout)
Genre
Documentary, Biography, History, Drama, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 25, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.3M
Runtime
1h 33m
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