It is incredibly rare for me to watch a documentary much less review one. I just don't have much interest in them. This time though, I felt compelled to review the upcoming HBO documentary film for Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery. It airs tonight on HBO and you can check your local listings to watch it. It is also being released on DVD the 14th and you can purchase it here.
It has been called "the saddest acre in America." It is also one of the most sacred. Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for young men and women who died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For families and friends, it is a place to grieve, to honor, to remember--and to find comfort and community with others who have shared the same profound loss. Award-winning filmmakers Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill present this emotional, elegiac documentary filmed entirely in Section 60 where cameras captured the sights and sounds of funerals and provide intimate glimpses of family members and friends who have come to honor their loved ones. (TVPG) (NA)
I watched a rough cut of the documentary and I imagine it will be refined when it airs and on the DVD that will be for sale. Even watching a rough cut I was given a very sobering and thought provoking time watching it. This is definitely a very emotional documentary.
Cemeteries affect everyone differently; for those that have lost loved ones any cemetery brings up those memories and has a profound emotional impact. If you have been lucky enough to not have lost someone they often hold a different view - one that can be a type of awe, fear or even fascination. I have yet to meet someone that didn't find some sort of powerful emotions associated with any cemetery much less a military cemetery. The way they did the documentary on the Section 60 area for Arlington National Cemetery brings you into that world of loss and emotion that transcends age, race or religion.
You are given a glimpse into not only the maintenance of the cemetery, the set up of endless rows (and growing so fast even the visitors remark on the new graves arriving daily) like a sea of marble marking the areas where many have been put to rest over the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also a very personal insight with visitors to the graves. It is those personal moments that you share with the people who have lost loved ones that really make an impact. Taps plays mournfully in the backdrop often as you are shown several services going on and you are right there with them witnessing the raw emotion and tragic loss. A father lays for hours with his hand on the stone for his lost son, widows bring their babies and discuss how this is the only way their children know their fathers, mothers and fathers crying out at the unfairness of it all. It was all very moving and excellently done. There was even a class that created a beautiful memorial as a project and the students put the puzzle pieces at the graves of those they chose to research, some even handing them to actual family members which I am sure made a profound impact on the children as well as the family receiving them. All of those people are bound by their losses and it shows in the way they comfort and visit with one another, sharing stories and decorating the stones.
What I didn't expect and found most moving were those that placed little stones on the top of the tombstones just simply done to express they weren't forgotten. Little children placing stones and talking how their fathers and uncles passed really brings home the unbelievable loss that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan has cost. It is easy to change the channel when it's on the news, and after the length of time we often become numb to the news unless it affects us directly which is a sad but true fact. I'm just as guilty as the next person for just tuning out what is going on. I needed this documentary to remind me. Everyone needs to watch this documentary to remind them that this goes beyond loss and the Bush administration. These are young men and women that struggle for all of us whether we want to acknowledge them or not, they have died for us and deserve to be recognized, appreciated and not forgotten or ignored.
Many service people were in this documentary and it was heart wrenching to listen to one (still in a cast) talk about his friend lying in a grave in front of him and how he took a blow to the stomach. His friend was there with him, trying to save him and failed. The aftermath affected this soldier in chilling ways that he discussed with his father by his side and shared with viewers and you should hear it, all of it. And it's not just your standard "American" stereotype that is lost, many difference races and religions are represented by the losses and shown. Their stories are some of the hardest: coming to America for the freedom, the opportunity and then loosing their sons and daughters is a price they never expected to pay. And yet, they are still proud and maintain the true American spirit
We are drowned with horrible news all the time when we watch TV lately. In a way we are becoming desensitized to it and that is just wrong. I'm a prime offender to not watch news on TV because of the constant barrage of horrors I see; wars, economy crumbling, arson fires, murders, floods, hurricanes, you name it - it is just overwhelming so I can imagine not many people will want to be subjected to the painful remembrance of Section 60 and what it means. It's to you specifically I beg to take the time to watch this or get the DVD. I'm very appreciative for it opening my eyes, and we all could stand a wake up call to remind ourselves that these people are fighting for us.
