Severe Clear

2010 "Uncertainty...Chaos...Disorder. This is war."
6.5| 1h33m| R| en| More Info
Released: 12 March 2010 Released
Producted By: Sirk Productions
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.severeclearthemovie.com/
Synopsis

Severe Clear is a film based on the memoirs of First Lieutenant Mike Scotti in videos made by him and others from the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines during the start of the 2003 Iraq invasion. The film explores the chaos and complexity of see the war.

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Reviews

HeadlinesExotic Boring
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
SnoopyStyle It's July 2002. After serving in Afganistan, First Lieutenant Mike Scotti volunteers to extend his term in the Marines to fight in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is part of the Marine drive from Kuwait to Baghdad. He brings along a mini-camera to film starting from his shipping over to his return back to the States. It's a world of long waits and harrowing near-death action. It is raw. The guys have no filter. Mike's reasons for volunteering are duty, loyalty and even revenge for the sister of an acquaintance lost during 9/11. This is bottom up, not top down. These men are simply following orders. They are not political and accept their president's orders without question. The chaos and confusion is palpable as the initial welcome from Baghdad residents quickly fades. It's a compelling watch even in the future for its historical value.
ps33 The Coalition's decision to invade Iraq in 2003 must surely be the biggest foreign policy error in the 21st century. We know now that it was on a false premise, and that Saddam's regime posed little threat to its neighbours while usefully keeping Iraq's ethnic and religious divisions in check. The legacy of the invasion is beyond tragedy for the countless millions of people across the world since affected by the violence that has ensued. Severe Clear is not the best account of the invasion and views of the soldiers mounting it, but it's certainly interesting and sheds useful light on it.In contrast to the review currently on the front page of IMDb's entry for this documentary, Severe Clear does not seek to uphold the lie that the invasion was based on. Sure, the beginning records Lt Scottie's astonishing belief that Saddam had been behind 9/11 and therefore needed to be toppled. However, in the epilogue, Lt Scottie adds his shock at the fact that WMDs were not found and thus that the premise was false. The documentary also includes a montage of the post- invasion disorder against audio of Donald Rumsfeld dismissing media reports of chaos, surely suggesting Lt Scottie's disagreement with the Bush administration's version of events. But that's what makes the documentary interesting: it's based on the narrator's journal entries and footage as he experiences them, chronologically. So while he starts off super-patriotic, by the end he's disillusioned, he questions whether the invasion was the right thing to do, and he's under little doubt about the need for a heavy US presence amid serious challenges in the years ahead.More broadly, the documentary has its strengths and weaknesses. Using UK news commentary to provide context was effective I thought, both in providing an 'international' (i.e. not US) voice and because, rather surprisingly, the USMC were getting their news from the BBC World Service (!). The footage is graphic, arguably too graphic, with several corpses badly mutilated by shellfire shown.I was also not keen on Lt Scottie's narration, which lacked originality (e.g. his complaints about the US Navy's food) or spirit. I appreciate the documentary's budget was doubtless tight, but I think they should have looked at getting an actor to read the narration.In all though, an interesting documentary which makes all the more painful viewing in light of subsequent events.
drippee2000 I loved this movie! I am writing on my husbands site but saw this movie and as the mother of an 82 Airborne young man who was over there and was wounded in a battle at AS Samawa on 3-31-2003, I can relate better to just what my son went through. He too brought back a video with the battle and his whole year there from the beginning and I didn't quite understand the bad words used by him and his unit or the way they talked about Iraq in such a negative manner. My neighbors son was also there in the 101st with the Army and he was the same way. I guess the young men and women who went through this war or any war live and talk different while they are in the heat of the moment and regular people back here just do not understand that, given what they see from the media. My son is OK now and I hope that all the people we have over in the middle east and Afghanistan can get home safe and sound asap God love every one of them
Tony Heck "Here's the truth about being a marine you won't find on the local news." Filmed in 2003 on his way from Afghanastan to Iraq to begin the march toward Baghdad during "Operation Iraqi Freedom", Lt. Mike Scotti of the Marine Corps shows the reality of what they went through. This is definitely the most accurate and truthful account of what the soldiers went through. From saying why they fight, what they feel, and what life is like. This is a documentary that is an absolute must see and the type that people will either love or hate, depending on their thoughts on the war. I say that based on the reviews that I have read of this movie and that makes me laugh because this is a soldiers home movie...not political at all but peoples opinions are so extreme on this that it becomes something that it's not intended to be. It shows both the good and bad. Iraqis cheering and wanting us out. The reason that I think people are giving this bad reviews is because the soldiers that are fighting are defending what they are doing and saying why they are there. Never once bad mouthing the president, although Rumsfeld gets a dig. Regardless of how you feel about the war this is a movie that needs to be watched. Overall, an absolutely captivating documentary that every American should watch. Like Tom Brokaw said "It's OK to be against the war, but never OK to be against the soldiers." This movie is the perfect example of that. I give it an A+ Would I watch again? - I would, and would show this to people.

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