Introduction

Photographer Tim Hetherington and journalist Sebastian Junger allow the realities of war to speak for themselves in this unnarrated documentary about a US Army platoon in Afghanistan.

The men of Second Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade teeter from naivete to weariness as months of alternating boredom and fighting take their toll. The loss of medic Juan “Doc” Restrepo leads the platoon to name an outpost in the remote Korengal Valley after him.

Outline

Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s year dug in with the Second Platoon in one of Afghanistan’s most strategically crucial valleys reveals extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of back breaking labour, deadly firefights, and camaraderie as the soldiers painfully push back the Taliban.

Korengal (2014)

Korengal picks up where Restrepo left off; the same men, the same valley, the same commanders, but a very different look at the experience of war.

Trivia & Goofs

• Co-director of Restrepo, Tim Hetherington, was killed on 20 April 2011 while covering the conflict in Libya.
• The movie’s title comes from Private First Class Juan “Doc” Restrepo, whose memory is also honoured in the company’s isolated base camp, OP Restrepo.

Production & Filming Details

• Directors: Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger.
• Production: Outpost Films, Virgil Films & Entertainment, Passion Pictures.
• Release Date: 06 August 2010 (US).
• Running time: 93 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link