It could be that Severe Clear is yet the most valuable artistic document to arise through the dark clouds wafting over the history of this second Iraqi war.
Severe Clear had it's world premier at SXSW 2009 a year ago and recently was picked up for a limited theatrical release. Follow the link below for release dates in major US cities.
Severe Clear is based on the memoir by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti as well as video footage shot by him and other members of 1st Battalion, 4th Marines on the outset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Directed by Kristian Fraga (“Anytown, USA”) and featuring a original score by Cliff Martinez (“Traffic”, “Narc”, “Solaris”) the film offers an unflinching look at the uncertainty, disorder and chaos of war from the remarkable perspective of one Marine.
Severe Clear was awarded Special Mention for Cinematic Excellence at the 2009 International Rome Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Salem Film Fest and the 2009 Barrymore Award. Severe Clear was also featured as part of the 2009 International Documentary Association’s DocuWeeks Showcase and was an official selection at the SXSW, Big Sky, Lone Star, Palm Beach, San Diego and St. Louis Film Festivals.
The film has also been recently featured and reviewed in The New York Times, CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Newsweek, Men’s Journal, Interview Magazine, Filmmaker Magazine, indieWIRE and more.
http://severeclearthemovie.com/wordpress/
Follow the link for a thorough review, and click here to view the theatrical trailer on Hulu.
This film invites an interesting comparison-study between contemporary warfare/soldier-experience and that of WWII, documented in Staff Sgt. Norman Hatch's film, With the Marines on Tarawa (featured in an earlier post). A comparison in cinematic style, as it relates to documentary filmmaking and the ever-changing domain of media and film production (as accessibility and exhibition outlets increase), would be of interest as well.
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