FILMS
I Love the Smell of Fake Napalm in the Morning
"Full Battle Rattle" is a hilariously devastating look at the insanity of war, by way of a battle reenactment training camp in the Mojave Desert. Documentary directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss scored unprecedented access behind the scenes at the Army's Hollywood set style recreation of an Iraq battlefield situated a few hours from Los Angeles, where soldiers train before being shipped off to war. The faux town, Medina Wasl, which the US government spent a billion dollars to build, is populated by soldiers and real Iraqi refugees who painstakingly simulate war scenarios. Amidst the fake blood, fake dead, and fake shootouts, the line between virtual games and real war gets blurry. "Full Battle Rattle" is playing at the New York Film Forum through July 22.
by Susannah Breslin on July 11, 2008
