Tom Parker
I've seen just about every documentary on the Iraq war (Gunner Palace, The Control Room, etc.), every episode of Off To War, and just about every news program that sticks a cameraman in a kevlar vest, be it Nightline or Frontline. And for the most part, they're all very good.Occupation: Dreamland, however, blows them all away.At first glance it looks like all the others. Identical talking heads in some makeshift basecamp, green nightvision raids, and lots of shaky cameras taking cover to the sounds of far-off gunfire and confused voices.But there's something very different about this one.The most obvious difference is the total freedom with which the soldiers appear to be speaking. At only a couple of times to you ever get the feeling that they're mending their speech. The speak openly, crudely, and exactly the way you always thought a 21 year-old infantry soldier in Iraq might talk when the Frontline cameras turn away."What the f--k are you looking at?" a soldier asks one of a handful of Iraqi men standing on the side of the road as he patrols the streets in Falluja. "Quit f--king staring at me like that. F--king a--hole." The really amazing thing though is just how well-spoken and honest they all are. They talk of dropping out of high school, joining the army, hating the army, hating the war, and hating the Iraqi people who clearly hate them back. Most jaw-droppingly though is how just about every soldier, to a man, follows up their dislike of the Iraqi people with, "You know what? If I was in their shoes, I'd be doing the exact same thing." It's such an amazing insight into the men who are actually dealing first hand with the mess we all talk and complain about.Another key difference between Dreamland and all the other documentaries, is the way it really makes you feel the frustrations of an unwinnable occupation. You watch as they raid house after house, looking for insurgents, coming to the same conclusions they're coming to: that no one knows what's really going on, that our intelligence is a joke, everyone seems to be lying AND telling the truth, and that just about anyone could be a "bad guy".And that's when they're NOT being shot at. Their frustration while on patrol, or acting as "security", is just painful to watch. They patrol, in essence, in order to be shot at or blown up. Early in the film everyone drops to the ground as an ungodly barrage of fire erupts a few blocks away. After taking cover, gathering their wits, getting some sort of insight as to the location of the attack, they make their way to the suspected source of the gunfire, conceding immediately that, "Even with a fairly quick reaction time, the insurgents had plenty of time to hide behind another building, hop in a car and drive away, or simply walk back in their house." And in a moment that seemed almost Hollywood-ized in its summarized perfection, the cameraman catches an IED as it blows up alongside their convoy. The freaked out soldiers then immediately open fire on an Iraqi man who happens to be the closest person to the location of the bomb, who himself was almost blown up. Proving that panic makes a crappy gun sight, they miss the guy completely, and watching him run from the explosion into a barrage of gunfire is both hilarious and gut-wrenching, as your heart breaks for everyone involved.Even a minute or two after the explosion, as the soldiers stand around helplessly, their desperation to fight back is palpable."Sarge, I see a guy running over there," one of the grunts says. "You want me to shoot him?" And at the same time you realize, "Geez, isn't that what people do when a bomb goes off - run?" The soldier being interviewed that same day says the exact same thing.Like David Bowie said, "And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds, are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through." See this film. It is, by far, the best documentary of the Iraq War, and one of the best war documentaries ever.
leilapostgrad
I was expecting a documentary on the fall of Falluja, made by filmmakers who just happened to be in the ill-fated Iraqi city when it was obliterated by U.S. Marines in the spring of 2004. But that's not at all what this film is about. Instead, Occupation: Dreamland is an intimate account of a particular group of soldiers in a specific time and place in the Iraq war. So don't walk into the theater expecting to have all of your questions about Iraq answered. But you will learn about a handful of American soldiers and how they perceive the war and their particular situation. Most of them understand that this isn't a war for liberation. They were smart enough to realize that this war, like all war, is about money and control. Still, these are hardworking and honest soldiers, and as such, they'll faithfully follow their orders and execute their duties, whether they believe in what they're doing or not. So no, you won't see a first-hand account of the destruction of Falluja, but you will meet eight or so men who will give you a deeper understanding of the American soldiers today.
Nameless_Numberhead_Man
Considering all its accolades on the documentary festival circuit, I had big hopes for Occupation: Dreamland, but ultimately it's not that much different from the embedded-era episodes of "Nightline" et al in the spring of 2003. Which is not at all to say it's unenjoyable -- the soldiers are endearing to a man, but so are most people once they're known on an intimate level. It's doubtful that Occupation: Dreamland will change many opinions toward the war itself, as the film is refreshingly even-handed, but the film certainly could help to correct one's misconception of soldiers in war-time. Ernie Pyle would probably approve.
