You know one thing that bums me out? A lot of friends I’ve talked to lately refuse to go see movies about Iraq! What’s the matter with people? For the past many weeks I’ve been talking up Paul Haggis’s new film, In the Valley of Elah (pictured), and as soon as I mention that it actually has something powerful to say about the war, a lot of folks’ eyes turn glassy. Nobody cares!
Are we that detached? I don’t wanna go on for too long about this, because it’ll probably make me sound like a shrill crazy person, but I do kinda feel that if you refuse to go see a well-reviewed movie like Elah or the flabbergasting war doc No End in Sight simply because both of them are about Iraq, then you are — hate to say, but it might be true — a bad American.
See? I’m shrill and crazy. I’d really rather hear from you people on this one. (If you’re interested, bone up with these recent articles in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on this particular topic.) Elah scored modestly promising returns at the box-office this weekend, but the fact is, no Iraq doc or feature or TV show (Steven Bochco’s Over There) has ever been commercially successful. Why is that?
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well, those two films aren’t showing in any theater near me. I can see “Superbad” 3 times at noon in the same movie theater. Go figure.
Despite the chops of Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, & Susan Surandon, despite the rave reviews, despite the fact that I’m one of the few who loved CRASH, I just don’t think I will go to the theatre and pay to see IN THE VALLEY. I even had free passes for an advanced screening and chose not to go. It’s just that I don’t want to be depressed for an hour and a half about something as frustrating and infuriating as the Iraq War. I know this is not a good enough reason, but I cannot come up with a better reason…
For me, it’s not that Elah’s about Iraq. It didn’t get that great reviews (look at Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic). Not that that usually stops me, but I’m not looking forward to seeing another mediocre drama from the guy who brought you Crash.
Love No End in Sight, though.
Sometimes you need a little distance from things chronologically – “Platoon”, about Viet Nam was a hit in the 80’s. Sometimes you need distance emotionally. Life sucks, yeah but sometimes, all you want to do is just shake your a** or laugh it off.
Paul Haggis is the only reason I don’t want to see Elah. Anyway, I’m Canadian, so I guess I’m already a bad American
It’s not that it’s about Iraq, it’s that it’s a Paul Haggis film. I hated “Crash” SO MUCH I refuse to see another one of his films.
I will see Elah…just later. I think the timing really affects a lot of people. This has been such a protracted, drawn-out war effort. That movies can be made and released while it’s still going on can be a painful reminder. Perhaps it’s not that people are detached, but too attached. Imagine if movies about the Civil War were available during that time? Or a documentary about atom bombs was released in Japan right after Hiroshima? Do you really think people would go see a dramatization while the real thing is happening?
also, no one wants to watch TV shows about Iraq.
‘over there’, anyone?
The idea of seeing a movie about Iraq as entertainment doesn’t do anything for me. As for enlightenment, I’m not sure if I’ll find it in the movies. That’s why I’m not going. There have been so many stupid things said about this war, I’m not sure if I want to go to these, or any, films and find myself surrounded by something else I think is unbearably knee-jerk or thoughtless. And, I’m sorry, but you can’t trust most critics. If I had a nickel for every film the critics loved & I hated, I’d have quite a few bucks.
Greg, are you sure you don’t want to “hear” from us instead of hereing from us?
I’d be curious to know if any WWII feature movies were successful during WWII. I don’t think there was a feature about Korea until the 70’s, and as Starchild said, Platoon was the first VietNam hit in the 80’s. And I don’t think they made any If we hear about it every day, then it’s not as necessary to go to the movies to see something about it. It doesn’t make me a “bad American” (I’ll save that appellation for the citizens who scream about how much they hate this country but still stay here); just one who prefers to see different films.
I work in the media. I have to read about this stuff everyday. I don’t want to see movies about 9/11 or Iraq because I like to go to the movies to forget all the stuff that’s going on.
My brother served in Iraq with the Army last year and is being sent back in December. To be honest with you, I don’t really want to think about it more than I have to; it’s kinda stressful. I generally go to the movies to take away some of that stress. Not that I’m against seeing movies that make you think about tough stuff, but this hits too close to home for most people right now.
Hi, I’m the history of film. I guess you and I have never met!
Because if we had, you would know that films based on currently ongoing wars have never done well, and in fact are almost entirely a creature of the iraq wars.
All the Vietnam movies came out well AFTER vietnam.
Heck, the vast majority of WW 2 movies did as well, minus a few exceptions (the great dictator for example).
Fresh wounds make audiences flee. They always have.
That’s why world war 2 movies are far more popular now and in the late ninties that they ever were in the late forties and fifties.
To be honest, I do not like to watch fictionalized accounts of the war partly because it feels off to me. I know the whole time that these are actors, that what they are portraying is really out there. I love movies and the incredible power they can have, to affect our thoughts, lives, and feelings, to educate and broaden perspectives. But people really are dying, and in this moment, I cannot bring myself to approach that as “entertainment.”
On the other hand, Casablanca, somewhat mind-blowingly, was made right at the beginning of WWII. They were portraying the desperate and necessary struggle against the Nazis at a time when the outcome of the situation was totally unknown. That amazes me, and I think about it every time they stand to sing La Marseillaise. I can only imagine the impact that film had at the time.
For me, now, I am not committed to seeing Elah (yes, Haggis’ involvement is a factor.) We’ll see.
My thoughts: ignorance is bliss. No one in American wants to see a film lacking a happy ending. We know there’s no happy ending, and our worse fears are that there never will be one. These movies will probably get their days in the sun when we can love back on this period as resolved history.
**love = look, excuse me.**
Rachel McAdams next film deals with the Iraq war so I’m hoping this trend doesn’t continue!
I think music, entertainment and pop culture in general usually goes the opposite way of real life. In war times, we want to see comedies & listen to music with no purpose (Beautiful Girls, T-Pain). When there’s no war and prosperous times, we liked more emotional movies and music, like grunge and Alanis. I don’t think its a coincidence. Seems like we generally want to be entertained by the opposite of reality.
Maybe if they made a movie exploring both sides of the issue, instead of recycling the “Iraq was a huge mistake, America is the bad guy” perspective, people might take to it. At least that would be something new. Balance is crucial–yes, even in Hollywood.
Also, Paul Haggis is a hack. Crash was horrible–doesn’t make me too optimistic about “Elah”
Most people know somebody who is serving in Iraq or elsewhere in the middle east. For that reason, they don’t want to see a movie about the dangers that those people are going to face. I know that is the reason that i stay away. However, I am interested in both Elah and No End In Sight (more so the doc). But people don’t want to spend their valuable entertainment time and money watching something that is going to cause them worry.
My cousin is on his second tour in Iraq, and not a waking hour goes by when I don’t wonder how he is.
so, Jay…you’re looking forward to the movie classic that presents Iraq as a really good idea?
truth is, people aren’t clued into current events. UNITED 93, despite the best reviews of last year and the most best picture citations, had trouble finding an audience and even the Academy was too fragile to sit through it. moviegoing America wants to see alien machines that transform into neat shapes and bad Pirate movies.
Hmm, let me think about this one for a second… Because most of the population of the U.S. is no longer standing for a) how the war has been handled, b) who it was handled by. Secondly, the topic of this war has been hashed and re-hashed so many times that, GEE, our brains can only handle so much war talk, and when we go to the movies it’s to GET AWAY FROM all of that stuff. Regardless of how you think this makes us look, we go to movies for ENTERTAINMENT. Not, “OMFG we’re all going to die, the world is ending, some guy just lost a leg, and tens of thousands of people are now without homes, etc, etc, etc.”
That is not entertainment – by it’s very definition. Sheesh.
What about Army Wives? Sure, it’s not about the war specifically, but it’s definitely got a thing or two to say about it. It did pretty well, and I don’t think it’s fair to discredit it just because it’s a soap and not a Serious Film.
I would consider watching Elah if it weren’t by Paul Haggis. Crash sucked.
I know why I’m not watching “Elah”: because Haggis’ script ruined “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Black Donnellys” had unwatchable moments and “Crash” was not only crass and self-righteous but also STOLE THE OSCAR!!! *is fighting old battles*
As for documentaries, I don’t watch documentary features. The very mediation of the filmmaker’s point of view involved in making fiction, when applied to fact, makes it suspect.
just wanted to add a note at how many responses are answering “Because we hate Paul Haggis!” I think that deserves its own article, EW.
I did see United 93. Jesus what a whallop that punched. I don’t think there’s another movie where me and everyone else in the theater stayed through the end credots and minutes after they ended. Maybe if audiences were more willing to not say “I go to the movies for entertainment” then our country would be more informed.
There is a very simple reason why to not see In the Valley of Elah — Paul Haggis. The man is one of the worst writers in Hollywood, ruining any screenplay he touches. His direction on Crash was some of the worst and most over-the-top I have ever seen. The man has never seen a cliched, overdone point that he didn’t want to beat like an entire herd of dead horses.
If you’re avoiding Elah just because of your Crash hate, give it a shot. From what the majority of critics said, this is a better and more subtle film in comparison. Even Owen, who had a distaste for Crash, liked the film well enough. I can agree that Crash was overrated (though I won’t go so far and say Haggis is a hack) but then again, so was Brokeback Mountain.
Though I can agree that not too many people at the moment want to relive the Iraq war in movies. Considering how much you see it in the news, it’s kind of weird watching it with movies. A documentary makes sense, but an actual film? Not too many people would want to watch a movie about something they’d rather escape from for the next 90-120 minutes in a theater. There’s nothing wrong with releasing these films, but distributors shouldn’t be surprised if the public’s reluctant to see them at the moment. Well, that and since the distributors aren’t releasing the films in enough theaters.
I’m going to throw my hate in the ring for Crash too. It was just stupid. There’s just not too much else to say.
I work in the news and, let me say, the Iraq War is covered all the time (as it should be, all of our armed forces deserve recognition and respect). People are bombarded by REAL images from this unpopular war. Why would we pay to watch Hollywood try to recreate something so personal when there are REAL family and friends of those overseas who deserve to tell their stories more? I’m all for documentaries on the war, but I wouldn’t shell out money to watch Hollywood try to push agendas, win Oscars, and make money on something that still hits too close to home.