This one is a highly acclaimed documentary shot by two journalists, Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, while they were embedded with a US Army unit over the course of a 15-month deployment in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2008. Unless you’re familiar with the events in question, the meaning of the title must be deliberate bit of mystery that is revealed later in the film itself.

Restrepo turns out to the name of a well-liked private in the unit that is deployed to the Korangal Valley, considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. We see Restrepo and the other members of the unit joking around as they’re being transported but little more of him after this. That’s because he is one of the two early casualties the unit takes after they’re based out of the Korengal Outpost. Their purpose there is ostensibly to provide protection while a road that cuts across the valley is being built but they don’t make much progress and frequently take fire from enemies they can’t even see. Eventually they’re tasked to construct a new outpost deeper in the valley, by literally sneaking to the position at night with shovels to dig out a fortified position. They name it Restrepo after their deceased comrade and the rest of the film shows them both defending it and running operations out of it including the fateful Operation Rock Avalanche that results in the death of a highly respected sergeant and breaks the morale of many of the soldiers.

As a documentary that covers the daily routines of soldiers deployed in an active combat zone, Restrepo is unparalleled. Much of their time is spent doing grunt labor: carrying stuff around, patching the structures that make up their base, maintaining equipment and menial jobs like burning human fecal waste. It also shows what they do during their downtime: weightlifting, joking around in the canteen, playing videogames, chit-chatting to each other using the portable radios. One of the more human moments of the film when they grab members of the unit to dance to Gunther’s version of the old Samantha Fox song Touch Me. Of course, there is plenty of action as well and I was surprised to note how extreme the engagement ranges usually are. The soldiers frequently pour automatic fire on targets that they can’t even make out, not seeming to care that the valley seems to be heavily populated. It’s particularly chilling that, as the deployment goes on and they are worn down by news of American casualties, they seem to become ever more enthusiastic about killing the enemy.

Watching this, I was struck by how scenic and beautiful the entire valley is and wonderful a place it would be to visit if not for the threat of violence hanging over it. The helicopter ride that the soldiers take to get to the outpost delivers some truly spectacular views as they crest a mountain range and you can see the whole valley laid out before you. Unfortunately you also get a sense of why this feels so dangerous to the Americans. There are villages and houses scattered all throughout the valley and although they occupy one of the hill-tops, there are innumerable other peaks and spurs in all directions all around them. They can be shot at from literally any direction at any given moment from angles that bypass the flimsy walls of their base. Knowing this, it’s easy to understand why they feel like constantly in a state of siege and it’s a steady psychological drain on the soldiers stationed there.

I appreciate that the directors try their best to be fair, but it’s impossible to get away from the fact that this is a film that sees things only from the American point of view. The soldiers complain that they’re going out of their way to be nice and respectful while the locals are constantly uncooperative and hostile. They show the regular shuras, or meetings, that the new captain holds with the local elders to prove that he’s willing to communicate with them but it’s evident from his first words how ludicrous this is. When the elders complain about wrongfully killed civilians, the captain’s response is that as the new commanding officer, he wants to start everything off with a blank slate and doesn’t want to talk about past misdeeds, as if all of those deaths could just be swept aside and forgotten. The documentary is frank enough to show the women and children who are hurt and possibly killed by American bombs but though the captain is clearly remorseful, he’s also always careful to avoid saying that they’re innocents. In his mind, even if they aren’t combatant, they have connections to those who are.

It’s worth remembering that this documentary could not have been made without the full cooperation and approval of the U.S. military. It’s easy to see why the military would be okay with a film depicting the sacrifices of the soldiers and the genuine pain that they experience when their comrades are killed. Plenty of war movies try to capture the strength of the camaraderie that soldiers of the same unit develop but this documentary rams this home for me like no other film has done. But when they break down over a couple of dozen of deaths and their captain reminds them of the need to stay strong and continue the fight, it’s impossible for non-Americans to not realize that they probably kill dozens of locals for every one of their losses. Indeed during Operation Rock Avalanche that was the lowest point for the unit, they had two deaths while killing something like fifty enemies. The Americans may feel that their cause is righteous and it’s pretty obvious that no one there wants their help.

Even as biased as it is in favor of the Americans, I found this to be an enlightening documentary and hence a very worthwhile watch. It’s obvious that the two filmmakers put themselves at significant personal risk to get this made and all things considered, did a fantastic job.