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Gunner Palace
By
Source: Catholic News Service
Raw and unfocused but affecting anti-war documentary chronicling the daily lives, fears and frustrations of soldiers serving in a U.S. Army unit known as the "Gunners" and stationed in a volatile area of Iraq, traveling with them on hazardous night patrols and raids of houses of suspected insurgents, as well as showing them relaxing at the bombed-out former palace of Uday Hussein, now converted into barracks -- complete with swimming pool and putting green -- from which the film derives its title. Directed by the married filmmaking team of Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein -- from footage Tucker spent two months collecting while embedded with the troops -- the (mostly) apolitical movie, shot in no-frills verite style and told entirely from the soldiers' point of view in their own uncensored words, is by turns sobering and surreal, resulting in snapshots of combat drudgery which add up to a war-is-hell message that will resonate with viewers whatever their political stripes. The film contains much strong language and recurring images of wartime violence. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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