Lone Survivor
Dir: Peter Berg
2013
****
I recently read an article written by a well known director about historical accuracy in films. The film will usually begin with the line 'Based on a True Story' but this is often a little vague. A fictional account of true events sounds more accurate but somehow less truthful, either way you have to take these types of film with a pinch of Salt. Either way, Lone Survivor is a great story and now a great film. It's graphic nature can be uncomfortable viewing at first but I believe a good war film should not shy away from the horrors that war produce, indeed, the good that can surface in the darkest of times is also important to understand. In Lone Survivor we see the blurred lines, the complexities of war and much of the gritty reality the most of us know but find impossible to fathom. It's not perfect and while it's favoured by the staunchest of Patriots, I just hope the real message of the film isn't overlooked or missed entirely as war is never a good thing and the only good war film is an anti-war film.