The Yellow Birds

A great war drama that truly inconspicuously but all the more intensely calls for action. Add in my favorite actress, Jennifer Aniston, who precisely reflected my feelings from the movie. And I was really curious to see her act, as she does not usually appear in similar drama roles. While the beginning was rather slow, the ending brought more than a healthy dose of emotions. I believe there are a lot of American films with the theme of military troops in Afghanistan, but none of them is like this one. Watch it till the end, the ending is really worth it. (27.06.2018)

A whole series of films about the traumas of Vietnam War veterans have been made, and it is logical that over time, veterans from the Middle East wars also received attention. Although Alexandre Moors tries, he is not and never will be a master director. A comparison with Sam Mendes' Jarhead comes to mind, where much less happens, the main character hardly participates in any action, and yet the film feels more urgent, more consistent, and more convincing. From the beginning, I had a feeling that something was missing in this film or that there was an excess of something. Purely from a filmmaking perspective, the film deserves three stars, but I have given many films the same rating and had a much better impression of them. These simply mean completely different three stars. What truly bothers me is the psychology of the characters. The mental processes of the sergeant and, above all, Brandon were not only unprofessional but downright nonsensical; the murder of a villager is inexcusable (although obviously insignificant for the film's creators). It is really strange how much time the film characters devote to dissecting their emotions. They are volunteers, military professionals, and mercenaries all in one. If we were to apply the same standards to participants in both world wars, who in the overwhelming majority had no choice and experienced infinitely worse situations, then a team of psychiatrists and psychologists would have to take care of every single one of the millions of returnees for the rest of their lives. We in the West have become overly sensitive. It also requires a bit of empathy toward the other side of the conflict, which faced overwhelming odds, suffered incomparably greater losses, and had reason to consider themselves victims of aggression, seeing their participation in the war as a necessity to defend their homeland, their ideals, and their way of life. As for Jennifer Aniston's presence, Toni Collette reliably outshined her in the role of the second war mother. She is simply a class above and a more interesting character actress than Jennifer, who, besides her elegant appearance, doesn't offer much else. Overall impression: 45%. There are much more mature and powerful films on this topic. (30.09.2019)