American Sniper (2014)

[Trevor]

What are your opinions on this, special peeps? 

It's only being released here on 20th February but I have seen and read much about it from either end of the political and personal spectrum: to be honest - I have never seen a film polarize opinions as much as this one has.

I will be seeing it here next month and because I am a long time fan of Clint Eastwood, I hope after seeing it to be able to forgive him for the inaccurate horror which was Invictus.

[lester1/2jr]

I haven't seen it. My sense is that's it's probably pretty good but it would help if people who liked it weren't like Stepford Wives about appreciating it

[Archivist]

A film like this is always going to face criticism/appraisal on a number of fronts.

- accuracy of portrayal of real life characters and events
- the glorification of war
- portrayal of enemy forces in balanced/unbalanced way
- overall messages sent by the film
- the quality of the film itself

and in this case, the main character himself is somewhat controversial, so there will be divided opinions as to whether the portrayal is accurate.  As for historical accuracy, let's hope this isn't another Argo or U-571.

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Trevor]

As for historical accuracy, let's hope this isn't another Argo or U-571.

Or, Lord help us, another Invictus where the Springbok rugby team train in Cape Town for a match in Johannesburg (!!) and where the famous 1995 aeroplane fly-over of the stadium was put forward in the movie as a possible terrorist attack aimed at taking out Nelson Mandela. 

Just for the record, Cape Town is at sea level and Johannesburg is on the Highveld and that famous flyover - giving millions watching goosebumps - was done with all permissions given and with everyone's knowledge: except those in the stadium and those watching at home.

Watch this and tell me it doesn't give you goosebumps:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJVMlHfloHA	Small | Large

[Neville]

Just seen it, and indeed it's a polarizing film: I almost came to blows with my best friend over it 

Him being the leftist rarely found inside the US, and me the kind of leftist that could be considered moderate in Europe and radical in the US, our main point of divergence was Clint Eastwood's point of view on Kyle and his exploits. Whereas he thought Eastwood was fully embracing Kyle's vision on his actions and his devotion to his country, I think Eastwood was trying hard to keep his distance in some aspects. From what I've seen in his other recent films, I'm sure his views on the military and the Irak war are more complex than what we see here.

But since we're talking about a subject where -as film critics say- a camera pan is a moral question, it's hard to draw ultimate conclusions.

What cannot be discussed is that Bradley Cooper is great as Kyle, and that the film is very well shot and full of action. Whatever questions the film raises at the end, they're not about its quality.

[zombie no.one]

I haven't seen it but here's an interesting review of it from an Iraq veteran, Brian Turner:
http://www.vulture.com/2015/01/american-sniper-iraq-war-film-controversy.html

found this bit particularly noteworthy:

The biggest problem I have with American Sniper is also a problem I have with myself. It’s a problem I sometimes find in my own work, and it’s an American problem: We don’t see, or even try to see, actual Iraqi people. We lack the empathy necessary to see them as fully human. In American Sniper, Iraqi men, women, and children are known and defined only in relation to combat and the potential threat they pose. Their bodies are the site and source of violence. In both the film and our collective imagination, their humanity is reduced in ways that, ultimately, define our own narrow humanity. In American Sniper, Iraqis are called “savages,” and the “streets are crawling” with them. Eastwood and his screenwriter Jason Hall give Iraqis no memorable lines. Their interior lives are a blank canvas, with no access points to let us in. I get why that is: If Iraqis are seen in any other light, if their humanity is recognized, then the construct of our imagination, the ride-off-into-the-sunset-on-a-white-horse story we tell ourselves to push forward, falls apart.