DVD available at Amazon.com
Directors:
Jon Alpert
Matthew O’Neill
Featuring:
U.S. Military and medical personnel of the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq
HBO Documentary Films presents Baghdad ER. Running time: 64 minutes. Rated TV-MA. DVD release date: August 29, 2006. MSRP: $24.98.
As you stare up to the ceiling, eyes straining to the light, a muffled sound is heard. Concentrating on your auditory senses the sound becomes distinguishable after a while. “On behalf of the President and a grateful nation, I present you with Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.”
A scene similar to the one I have just described opens Baghdad ER. Only the action depicted is not an allusion dreamed up by Hollywood. It’s a reality. Everyday the around-the-clock news agencies report on the latest casualties, but all it is is a 30-second voiceover, if that. Documentarians Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill go beyond the headlines and bylines to show us an Iraq as seen through the eyes of the brave men and women of the 86th Combat Support Hospital.
When Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley saw a screening of the documentary with other senior Army officials, he recounted that the film was “an extremely graphic and moving look at how we care for severely wounded service members.” (From a memo dated May 9, obtained by CNN.)
Can’t fault him there. The footage is disturbing, and not for the squeamish. To see men come off the medevacs on stretchers, their clothes tattered revealing burns or wounds suffered in combat. As hard as that is to envision, the personnel of the 86th CSH experience this everyday. Their operating room never stops. Opened 24/7.
There is no narration; no one to guide us along as we see the hospital staff strive to save lives. Sometimes they are successful, other times not. For 64 minutes you see the aftermath of the atrocities committed by improvised explosive devices (I.E.D.s), as well as hear a simple act of kindness – a New York guardsman trying to give an Iraqi girl some candy – end hastily by a sniper.
But despite the horrific images, the documentary does not play favorites. Leave it to the pundits to spin the news and have you follow their edicts. Baghdad ER remains neutral while holding steadfast to its central theme: war causes severe physical and mental anguish to those men and women who risk life and limb defending the freedoms they hold dear. The perfect example is an infantryman with shrapnel in his eye. He wants nothing more than to get back to his position, to serve with his unit, fight for his country.
We see this as a fly on the wall of the emergency ward. The thoughts and opinions are not sugarcoated. They are so universal they could be the same sentiments expressed during any war or military confrontation. The doctors are more or less frustrated with the rampant use of I.E.D.s. They are the source of most of the carnage, and loss of life. “Everyday a never-ending string of this shit,” says one doctor.
Both Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill try to limit their documentary to the grounds of the 86th Combat Support Hospital, in Baghdad’s Green Zone; operating rooms and an ICU are the most prevalent. That’s probably the biggest complaint. We see the wounded arrive on medevacs, but no footage is shown of the first responders who take care of injured on the ground before help gets there. This, and the fact we don’t get to know the doctors and nurses on a more personal level, is but a minor quibble.
There’s no doubting the efforts and remarkable job these medics did while on tour in Iraq. The hours worked, and the wounded treated inside the ER, has to be an enduring experience. Floors covered in blood. Janitorial staff wringing mops, trying to wash the blood away before the next chopper touches down. Sometimes it is just too much to stomach. But it needs to be seen.
Despite dismembered limbs being placed in red garbage bags to never be seen again, the most haunting scenes are the lingering consequences. A hospital chaplain hovers over the bed of a soldier recuperating, after an I.E.D. killed one of his friends and injured another. A solider is taught to be firm and steadfast in the most trying of times. But with those images and experiences embedded in his mind, he can’t help but breakdown and cry.
Even with the relentless carnage, the doctors of Baghdad ER have their own stress relievers. Brandishing two golf clubs, a doctor shows that even in the desert they find ways to play golf. Others blow off some well-deserved steam by playing basketball in a nearby court. And, of course, there’s no better way to relax than cigar night on the hospital’s rooftop. Explosions can be seen in the distance, as they puff away. They stay put enjoying their fine cigars, but in mere minutes they’ll be back downstairs ready to treat our men and women.
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 16:9 widescreen)
The documentary has a remarkable transfer. The footage, most likely shot in high-def, puts you right in the ER, and the use of night vision for nighttime rescues is a nice touch. There are sequences where interference causes snowy images, but such scenes are few.
THE AUDIO
(English and Spanish – 2.0)
Like the sharpness and clarity of the video image, the audio is also noteworthy. The sounds of the ER and ICU wards are clearly audible. Some scenes are soft sounding, and the lack of subtitles really hurt when you want to see what is being said. You could always turn up the volume on your remote, though. Just keep a steady finger on the remote as a precaution.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Sadly, this DVD does not come with any special features.
THE INSIDE PULSE
Baghdad ER, much like the two theatrical releases about 9/11 this year, is not an easy film to watch. The documentary is a realistic depiction of our current state. By focusing on the military and medical personnel of the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq, directors Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill offer an abbreviated view of life in the ER. While they could have explored themes beyond the scope of the hospital, the 64-minute doc’s point echoes long after the credits roll: War tries millions of men’s souls, and it’s up to a few thousand to piece them back together.
