Zero Dark Thirty

I don't want to make this blog solely about films, but I figured this one was too good to not talk about. I saw this movie the day it hit theaters. It illuminates everything that occurred leading up to Osama Bin Laden's capture - which I think the average American had not been fully aware of and did not understand entirely until now. The film apparently is controversial because of the torture that supposedly the United States government is denying taking part of. Yes, the torture scenes to me seemed inhumane - because torture in itself is by nature, inhumane. That being said, some of the tactics and crimes against humanity that I have read about that have occurred in the past or that other countries and terrorist groups have been part of, are much worse. The stuff I have read about makes this movie's torture scenes look like a vacation. If you want to know what I mean, or if you want to cry a little bit, read Luz Arce's book, about Pinochet's military junta in the 70s and 80s in Chile. It details very closely how she lived in fear for years being brutally tortured and raped repeatedly, living in fear and having to become aligned with a corrupt political party in exchange for survival. It is really, really sick and disturbing (Here is the link on Google Books). And I mean even more sick than The Human Centipede. Anyway, I just thought I would mention that because her book scarred me for life and the torture scenes in Zero Dark Thirty maybe weren't as bone-chilling as some of the reviews are making it out to be. I also think that the American government does not want to fully reveal all the exact details of Operation Neptune Spear because they are classified and simply not the agenda of the average civilian - which is why certain artifacts in relevance to the truth of the movie are being denied by the government. And also there is the claim that information that had not been declassified was obtained during the research of this film without governmental consent. But this is besides the point.

What I appreciated about this movie was the way this movie communicated its message: That no matter what, war is bad. I think it made a statement; that assassinating Osama Bin Laden was not a happy, fun thing that everyone should all sing and dance around a bonfire about and scream "'Merica!!!" while waving our firearms around in the air. There are no winners in war. Period. I think a lot of people went into this movie thinking it was all about propaganda and celebrating Operation Neptune Spear. Although it is biased (because it follows an American CIA operative), I don't think it beat the viewer over the head with the fact that America was elated about the operation. I think it was more of a "this-situation-really-sucks-but-justice-needs-to-be-served" kind of thing. And this justice doesn't just speak to America. Because The al-Qaeda are a terrorist group, and do not "sit well" with a myriad of governments and political groups. Osama's body was dumped in the ocean because no country would receive it after the operation had been executed - including Pakistan where he had been secretly hiding out. The film never really became cheesy because it did not depict Osama Bin Laden, nor did it show the president. Leaving these elements out entirely focuses on the operation at hand, and the one operative who worked tirelessly on this manhunt and did not give up even after a decade. It also gives the film more of a timeless and universal quality, as the two enemies are faceless. The middlemen (in this case the middlewoman) are really the ones who pushed for this operation and for the fulfillment of justice. The audio in this film is also amazing. The first sequence of the film is just a black screen which allows the viewer to listen to the actual desperate final emergency phone calls of the victims of 9-11. It really creates a chilling experience which serves to dramatically introduce the film. The film also leads me to believe that government jobs look very difficult. And ethically conflicting. And serious. It was tiring to watch Jessica Chastain in duress during the pursuit of OBL. And when you feel as though you can empathize with a character, you know the film has done its job. Very poignant film.