TOLD YOU SO!! Agenda driven film FLOPS!!!

I wrote this piece "Spotlight on Iraq Themed Films Fades to Black" in SEPT 2007 after attending the Toronto Film Festival in which I spotlighted Nick Broomfield's agenda driven lied filled, hate filled polemic on the Haditha Marines:

Director Nick Broomfield of "Battle for Haditha" told Reuters

"I think there was a hope until about two years ago that there might be a way forward, that democracy was going to work, and I don't think anyone has that belief anymore. We need to look at things in detail to make informed decisions."

But Bloomfield makes no bones about his intent: he wants to persuade the US government to pull troops out of Iraq.

"It’s the runup to the American election so it’s an important time to influence the American public now in a way that goes beyond the television news."

Quoting Broomfield

"I hate the way they join the army and they turn into killing machines, but you can’t blame the marines. If you teach a dog to be an attack dog, which is what they are, don’t be surprised when they attack."

Someone needs to tell this dolt, that the Marines do not join the Army- they join the Marine Corps!

While Broomfield insists that his film "Battle for Haditha"

"doesn’t truly vilify anyone, not the men who plant the bomb nor the jittery soldiers who commit a terrible crime in a moment of madness"

that statement more than implies that Nick has followed in the footsteps of John Murtha indicting the Haditha Marines of murder despite the fact that at least three Marines had all charges dismissed against them when exonerated by the evidence; that the evidence against another Marine remains inconclusive, and that based on the evidence gathered, all charges against the remaining Marines will more than likely be dropped.

It's utterly inconceivable to me that after hearing Broomfield's comments, Elliot Ruiz and Eric Mehalacopoulos, two actors in the film, both former Marines who had tours of duty in Iraq, can honestly believe that the Marines have been fairly represented in this film and that "Nick didn't take sides" .

While these films, particularly"Battle for Haditha" have received some critical kudos, look for the lackluster response at The Toronto Film Festival to ensure an even more lackluster, if not dismal, response at the box office.

Today, Bruce Kessler at Democracy Project reports:

The liberal British film award panel for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards decided to eliminate “Battle for Haditha” because of the inconvenient truth that it is a lie that the Haditha Marines were guilty of an atrocity. As reported by one of the judges in the Guardian:

But a judge enlightens us that charges against some of the soldiers have recently been dropped. With a QC [Queens Counsel: “Barristers of at least ten years standing may apply to become queens counsel. QCs undertake work of an important nature”) on the judging panel this became a vote-changing issue.

David Allender interviews the lead actor, chosen by Broomfield because he is a former Marine who fought in Iraq so as to lend credence to the film. The lead actor claims, “The film is definitely a fictional portrayal.” Allender follows up: “I can’t speak for the Wuterich family, obviously, but I think they’d probably appreciate it if you stressed to the media that this is not a true story.”

More from Democracy Project here.

Well, if it's not a true story - then why bother to make a movie using a docu-drama style that implies strongly this did happen?? Nick decided the events were true, and portrayed them as such, because that narrative served his political agenda and as he admitted he wanted to affect the outcome of the US election and the war! And while I do agree that the film does provide three points of view -"3 sides to one story" -- the reality is that there is only ONE side --the alleged massacre never occurred!

Bottom Line:
American movie audiences could care less about, and are fed up, with the long list of manipulative left wing agenda based excessively violent Iraq themed films that endlessly disparage our brave men and women serving in the Military, many of whom have had several tours of duty in Iraq, and dishonor those who have paid the ultimate price.

My Gut:
A feel good, kick our enemies ass, true story about the brave actions of our soldiers & Marines will be much better received. Just ask Michael Yon.

According to Variety, it appears that Hollywood producer James Jacks concurs:

Producer James Jacks ("The Mummy" series) thinks audiences might go for war movies that presented soldiers as more heroic. From a military family, Jacks knows many veterans. In Hollywood's Iraq films, he says, "either the soldiers are victims or criminals doing something terrible like 'Redacted' or victims like 'Home of the Brave' or 'Stop-Loss.' But for most soldiers, it's about making sure their teammates get out alive. The best movies are about a single unit on a single mission. Otherwise movies get too big, into sweeping issues of politics and morality.