I saw this at SIFF and it was un-fucking-believable. I don't generally go in for war flicks, so I was a little hesitant about this one, but I was real glad I saw it. It was one the least political movies about war I've ever seen, which I thought really worked for this particular piece. It was almost completely commentary-free: more of a "just-the-facts-ma'am" affair, and that approach pays off big-time. It feels like a documentary most of the time, which wound up making it up even more upsetting and flat-out terrifying than it might otherwise have been. "Pants-shittingly tense" indeed.
Very very well done...and it did a funny thing to me as well. A scene in the film depicts a character walking through a supermarket after finishing a year long tour in Iraq, and the supermarket was the FIRST thing they show of their homecoming, and it took my breath away. When I finished my year-long tour in Iraq, I don't even remember much of the flight back or my first few hours. The first thing I remember was setting foot in a grocery store after a year, because brought the strangest feeling washed over me. The scene in the movie captured it perfectly; the bright fluorescent lights, the rows upon rows of endless food choices, and being lost in it all, not remembering how to buy food or navigate such a place. Believe it or not that scene resonated with me better than any scene I've seen in cinema in years.
Saw it last evening with some friends and I ended up leaving in the middle. Wasn't able to connect with the characters and found it to be rather boring. Too bad considering it cost me nearly $10!
Thanks.