Blogs, War, Movies, and More

(Note: The film Gunner Palace will be available on DVD from Amazon on June 28th. Part of the profits will be donated to the Fisher House, an organization dedicated to helping families of wounded troops. To mark the event - and perhaps introduce this movie to newer readers - here's my interview with the man who made the film, conducted at the time of the theatrical release.)

Filmmaker Michael Tucker visits Mudville to talk about Iraq, the blogosphere, and his movie Gunner Palace, opening in theaters this weekend.

A late January day in Iraq, typical of any day of that sort. Except eight million of the locals got up, got dressed, and made their way to the polls to vote on their futures and the future of the world. A few died for the effort, the vast majority did not. And the rest of the world got images; purple fingers, dancing, smiles, and perhaps bit of renewed faith and hope for mankind. I was there, in Baghdad on that day, and that very afternoon, success still in the air, I read this in the NY Times:

Watching "Gunner Palace" - the title refers to the 2-3 Field Artillery's headquarters, the gutted former Uday Hussein palace in Baghdad - you realize the American mission is probably doomed even as you admire the men and women who volunteered to execute it.

Of course Frank Rich wrote that review pre-election, and no doubt expected it to resonate in the atmosphere of failure he anticipated for that day. But what did that mean as far as the movie was concerned? Had he actually seen it? Was it really one that would elicit such a response, or was the reviewer just forcing a square peg into his own pre-drilled round hole, viewing it through his personal filter of defeat?

Because here's what bothered me, reading those rather despairing words on an otherwise fine, fine day. I knew that movie. Mike Tucker, the man who made it, had emailed me a couple of times over the past few months, most recently regarding difficulties with the rating, and...

Hmmm, perhaps it would be best if we did this via flashback. (Now you imagine a wavy appearance to everything as the screen fades to black.... then fades in on...)

May, 2004.

A much younger Greyhawk makes his internet rounds, his limber mouse finger clicking swiftly as he moves through the MilBlogs Ring and stops on this post at CPT Patti, a blog (since closed) run by fellow American-in-Germany named Tim, a retired Army Colonel and husband of Cpt Patti, in which Tim wrote:

I have an e-friend named Mike. He makes his living making films (there may be a more specific way to say that...I'm not certain.)

Mike has been to Baghdad at least twice since OIF started. He tells me he wanted to produce a film/documentary (I think) about, well, "the story". He met and followed soldiers. Shot film of the good and the bad.

He made friends with some of these guys. He's lost some of these friends he's made when those friends died in Iraq.

Of his film he says it shows soldiers as who they are. Human beings. See, Mike seems to trust us to be able to handle the fact that human beings are imperfect. So his film isn't one that portrays the US Soldier a la John Wayne. But, more importantly in my mind, it shows soldiers being imperfectly GOOD as well as being imperfectly bad...something that CNN can't seem to do.

So far no one will buy Mike's film for showing on TV or other outlet. It isn't that it isn't good. They've told him it is very good! But they think we the public want more of the same crap they show on CNN day in and day out. (I'm guessing prison scandal movie producers are probably in bidding wars for their films).

So here is my special request. I volunteered to pray that a buyer would come forward to buy Mike's film. Really, honestly say a prayer to that effect.

And I'm asking if you will do the same.

Because our Soldiers and Marines, imperfect as they may be, on the whole are good Americans doing good things. They deserve to be shown that way - warts and all (not "warts and more warts" as CNN does) by the public. And Mike is a guy trying to do that but the elites in the media don't seem to understand most that The America I Live In wants to see this sort of stuff.

So please, lets do our Soldiers and Marines a favor...and Mike too. Please promise me you will say a quick prayer that this film finds a buyer.

Thanks.

"Hey..." I thought, immediately dropping into my role as one of the stewards of the blogosphere, "I wonder if I could help bring attention to this - and if the blogosphere could make something happen here?" After all, in the first few months of existance Mudville had already helped thwart the evil machinations of the William Morris Agency. So who knows what a blog post might accomplish?

So I did two things. First I posted a link to Tim's post, and then I emailed Glenn Reynolds, a fellow steward of the blogosphere who's always on the lookout for interesting links. He linked too, and together we sent thousands of readers over that way. ;)

Would it matter? Prayer is a powerful thing, but if everyone in the industry had the same attitude as is expressed in this German media quote from David Kaspar you'd think that's exactly what they didn't have:

All German TV networks and stations rejected tucker's documentary. Not all of them rejected the film because they considered it unstructured or thought, as was written in one rejection notice, that "given the current state of the public discussion of torture and Iraq's future it will be difficult to find a station willing to broadcast [the film]." Even those broadcasters who thought Tucker's film was the most vivid available portrait of the American soldiers in Iraq were afraid their viewers wouldn't understand. It's true. Tucker's Gunner Palace presents a completely different portrait of American troops than does Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Tucker has no agenda and no enemy - and therefore, perhaps, also no friends in Germany

Tucker was undaunted; he had a tale to tell, and it was important to him. Up against formable barriers and needing a way to develop a groundswell of support he tapped something known to relatively few people at the time; the Power of Blogs.

I received my first email from Tucker shortly thereafter, introducing me to the blog he started about the film. I linked it, and by this point in time a few other blogs were linking to him as well, but I was actually getting ready to deploy to Baghdad myself and didn't have time to follow any developments in the story.

So now fade back in on today. What happened in those intervening months to make a film about "our Soldiers and Marines, [who] imperfect as they may be, on the whole are good Americans doing good things" and presenting "a completely different portrait of American troops than does Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11" into something now referred to as "A companion piece of sorts to Fahrenheit 9/11". Could Mike really have called his own movie a "Trojan horse" to get the average, support-our-troops American to think realistically about the war as he was quoted?

Once again - blogs fill the knowledge gap. This review by Armed Liberal at Winds of Change seemed fair:

My reaction to the movie while I was watching it was complicated - up, down, sideways, and back again. And when it was over, I was ready to sit back down and see it again, which is a strong vote that you go see it as well.

The couple that made it tried hard to make a nonpolitical film about the war - which will, doubtless, satisfy no one. It frustrated me, as someone who sees the war fundamentally politically (and I don't just mean in the narrow sense of domestic politics). And then I just started watching it.

MilBlogger Phil Carter got to see the screening too.

To call the movie "powerful" would be an oversimplification. It was that, but it was so much more too. "Gunner Palace" does what no book, no news article, and no blog can do - it makes the soldiers of 2-3 FA come alive for those experiencing the movie, in a way they could only do if they were in person. The movie shows little of the war as we see it on CNN or in DOD press conferences; you don't learn about grand strategy or tactics, or the push/pull of victory and defeat. Instead, what you hear are soldiers' stories - from the privates to the sergeants to the captains to battalion commander LTC Bill Rabena, a colleague of mine from Fort Hood.

Lefty blogger Kevin Drum linked Carter's review, and his post prompted the following comments from his readers, perhaps giving insight to how some on the left will receive the film:

I'm sorry, but this business about what "heroes" "our troops" are is growing more than a bit old, a bit thin, and a bit stale.

I'm sorry that so many people either have a chip on their shoulders or a guilt trip about Vietnam, but a most these are a bunch of joes no better and no worse than anyone else. They don't have halos and I - for one - am getting tired of this.

Moreover, there has been quite a lot of prisoner and civilian abuse going on and the invasion of Iraq is a crime for which they - as volunteers and under Nurenburg principles - bear some responsibility.

There is something weird about this and - no - they are most definitely not standing up for democracy. I aprehend that their real mission may very well be quite to the contrary.

So let's get over "the troop" worship.

Posted by: Thinker on February 25, 2005 at 2:17 PM

How about a film about the life of an ordinary family living in Fallujah? Then maybe I'll take notice.

Posted by: charles on February 25, 2005 at 2:36 PM

So, any news when the movie about being at the business end of an American GI's gun is going to come out?

How about those people who are collateral damage in the pin-point bombing?

How about some follow-up to that Iraqi wedding party that got blown to smithereens?

And, have conditions improved in Abu Ghraib? How many people, exactly are being held there? How long have they been there?

Halliburton is getting a bonus for their work in Iraq?

And, how about those Iraqis who have to wait in line for a day to fill their gas tanks?

How many Iraqis have died due to poor sanitary conditions - lack of water, electricity(Air Conditioning in the summer must have caused hundreds and hundreds of deaths).

Any idea when that movie is coming out Kevin?

No, I didn't think so. I guess Americans all like to play GI Joe.

Posted by: Michele on February 25, 2005 at 2:42 PM

Others speculate that it's Tucker and co-director Petra Epperlein who are spitting on the troops. Ken Tucker (no relation to Mike), in New York Magazine:

Watching Gunner Palace, I initially wondered whether the filmmakers, Michael Tucker (no relation) and Petra Epperlein, were like the people who used to spit on Vietnam veterans when they returned home. Their anger -iin this case, about America?s invasion and subsequent "rebuilding" of Iraq - seemed gravely misplaced. Instead of criticizing the Bush-administration policies their film so clearly detests, Tucker and Epperlein train their cameras on the people involved in this engagement who have the least power. These are, of course, the soldiers, who are made to look, most of the time, like irresponsible fools.

For the record, Tucker is from a military family, he's not spitting on the troops.

(Side note: don't worry - no one's spitting on the returning troops. That didn't even happen during Vietnam, as James Wolcott explains in his discussion of the film - for those who need the deranged moonbat point-of-view).

All of this leaves me eager to see the film and decide for myself - something I didn't feel a need for with Fahrenheit 9/11. But I won't be able to until it opens in Germany, either in AAFES theaters on base or in the Kinos outside the gates. But I didn't have to wait to find answers to some of my questions - because I had Michael Tucker's e-mail. He's been stateside this past week and obviously busy doing the pre-debut media blitz associated with any premier. But I contacted him and on the eve of opening day he graciously took time from his schedule to respond.

Without further ado - my conversation with Mike on blogs, war, and Gunner Palace.

Greyhawk: Congratulations on the opening of Gunner Palace. I know it was a long haul, and there were a few blogs 'with you all the way'. You've even got a blog roll of sorts on the movie site. Did blogs help move the project forward?

Michael Tucker: Blogs helped during production to hear a diversity of perspectives on the war. Favorites in the Mil sector include Trying to Grok, CPT Patti's Husband and Blackfive. It was useful to read these people to know what military families were experiencing and to hear from people on the ground. While I have my own experiences, it is often useful to compare notes--to take the pulse of America.

When we first released clips from the film, bloggers were the ones who responded. That interest helped spark festival interest--an internet footprint can be measured and provides instant feedback to distributors.

GH: How did the project get started? How did you get to Iraq?

MT: I went to Iraq the first time in May 2003 with a German armored car salesman to make a film about the security business. That led to another trip in June/July 2003. While we were running around Baghdad we got to know many soldiers--most from 1/36 Infantry. They traded us food for phone calls. During that summer you could see the "war" falling off the front pages, while kids were dying every week. I went out on a few patrols and decided that there was a film in it. I returned in September 2003 and heard about 2/3 FA, their pool (it was hot) and their palace.

GH: Are you still in touch with the guys - what do they think of the finished product?

MT: Most of the soldiers in the film have seen it and are pleased with the results. They are the toughest critics, so I showed it to them first in Giessen, Germany in July and later in September. We just were on tour for six weeks which brought us to 15 cities where many Gunners as well as soldiers from other units screened it. The response from OIF Vets, especially from that time period, has been amazing. I think the film captures the essence of place as well as some of the character of today's Army. In Fayetteville, it screened through the roof which made me happy. Again, tough critics.

GH: How many theaters is it opening in? Is this big, nationwide? (It should be!)

MT: We open tonight in NYC, DC, LA and SF. On the 11th we had 15 more cities. On the 18th we should be in the top 40. These first weeks are critical.

GH: You've called the movie non-political, said it's about nothing more than the story of the guys in the film. But more than a few major-media columnists/reviewers are labeling it an anti-war classic. What would you say to them to set them straight?

MT: I left my politics at the palace gate. You do see some contrast between what war planners are saying and what war fighters are doing. Iraq has become very personal for me. I don't see it through a political lens anymore, rather an emotional one. I've made many friends, and lost a few. Iraq is also a place that is not black and white. It is one big gray area. I've tried my best to show reality--good and bad.

As for antiwar? I don't think it is possible to make a film during a time when young Americans and Iraqis are dying every day that is not antiwar. However, I think the film is more complicated than that. Rather, it challenges what many of us think of the war from afar. Up close and personal, it feels different. When you are in the middle of it, again, it becomes personal.

GH: No one is more anti-war than the soldier. Speaking of soldiers, who's that picture of - in the advertising? It looks like a young kid in a helmet.

MT: That is SPC Tom Susdorf. Age 20 when the pic was taken by me. He had just come off an escort. I love the pic 'cause he looks (and is) so young. He was one of my room-mates--great kid with about a month left in the army. He's going to college, so he'll be the only freshman with his face on a poster (freckles and all).

GH: I've been there - many of the faces are young.

Back to the antiwar theme, anti-war demonstrations generally draw large crowds - or did a few months back before the success of our efforts in Iraq became more obvious. A few groups are doing 'counter demonstrations' - Protest Warrior, etc. But generally they attract relatively few people. We could speculate endlessly on why that is, but the fact is, that's the way it is. Regardless of real numbers of each camp, the 'anti' side is the one that brings people out. Does that factor in to the marketing of the film?

MT: No. I think both camps can learn from these soldiers and they are. Look at the review in Salon today. Amazing. I feel like I was successful in telling the story of these soldiers in a way that humanizes them- so people care what happens to them and the Iraqi people. It feels great that people are taking the war more personally when they view this film--connecting with a few faces so they have a reason to care.

All I want is for people to care and talk about the war. That is what bloggers do every day and I am thankful for all the bloggers--no matter their opinions--who care about what is happening in Iraq. You've kept the war where it belongs: as the only story that matters.

GH: Thanks Mike - I know you're busy, good luck, break a leg, etc!

Like Frank Rich's comment that started this post, most 'anti-war' statements already seem outdated - overcome by events, by the nascent freedom movement now just beginning to rise in the region. If Gunner Palace is such a statement it will be immediately and painfully obvious to the viewer. But I don't think that's the case.

Obviously the movie is not without controversy - that should surprise no one. The bottom line is if you made a movie about the war in Iraq that wasn't controversial then you somehow failed to capture the essence of the war. Based on the comments and reviews Tucker and Epperlein captured that essence quite well. I'm looking forward to seeing the film. For those of us in Germany, Mike also mentioned he's trying to get a special print for the 1st Armored Division.

For those of you who responded to Tim's original request - you're prayers have been answered. See Gunner Palace tonight in New York City, DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Fifteen more cities on the 11th and nationwide by the 18th. Contact your local theaters and see when Baghdad will come to your town.

21 May Update: via email, Michael Tucker:

The DVD comes out on June 28th. Presales on Amazon now

We started an initiative with Fisher House last week--we gave them the first check ($10,000) of what I hope will be a sizable donation based on DVD sales. I'm off to Iraq next week to see how things have changed and to get some images that will support a project for orphans that one former Gunner is getting off the ground.

Best,

MT

Note: Reposted from 2005-03-04 22:25:43