JARHEAD

4/5
stars jake gyllenhaal, peter sarsgaard, jamie foxx

one of the best movies i've seen in a while. as troy (sarsagaard) says, this is a story about war without the political bullshit. it follows the life of the marines from the eyes of swafford (gyllenhaal), a 20 year-old guy who has nowhere to go back home and got lost on the way to college, sir.

the film has been criticised for not 'taking sides' on the iraqi occupation. but who gives a shit? instead, the film focusses on what its like to be one person in a mass of soldiers. it shows them just being guys and having a good time, or even having bad ones. it highlights the things that the marines have to go through to prepare them for the war, but these guys get no where near the battlefront, and only fire their rifles in one last cathartic move when they are told they're allowed to go home.

the film is heartbreaking just as it is uplifting. superb, AWARD-WORTHY performances by leading characters gyllenhaal and sarsgaard that takes us on a journey of brotherhood, heart-ache, and the realising the value of the simple things in life.

-LOki