'Gunner' puts political opinions aside

In the world of controversial, "point your finger at the bad guy" documentaries like "Fahrenheit 9/11" or "Super Size Me," it's nice to see a documentary that goes out to document, and not to judge. "Gunner Palace," the most recent documentary film to cover the war in Iraq, follows around a group of American soldiers in their day-to-day activities. Through interviews, action shots and even freestyle rap footage, the film presents a pure look at what is going on overseas which most Americans are unable to see on the normal media outlets. \nThe film was written and directed by a husband and wife team (Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker) from Germany who spent a long period of time in Baghdad following around a group of young soldiers who make up the 2/3 Field Artillery, who go by the name "gunners." The title of this film comes from the Hussein palace that the unit resides when not perusing the streets of Baghdad. The palace, said to be Saddam Hussein's son Uday's "party getaway," is run down, under constant attack from rebels, but is a place away from reality where the soldiers can unwind and try to forget about the war. Throughout the film we see the soldiers hard at work dealing with dangerous hidden bombs, arresting suspected terrorists and dodging rocks and RPG's, as well as sun bathing by the palace's giant pool, dancing, singing songs like "My Girl," and freestyling their thoughts on their purpose of being in this foreign place. \nThe film is edited much like a normal week for these soldiers. There is no real sense of time, no set storyline, instead the filmmakers throw together footage in a chaotic manner, very similar to how they saw life in Baghdad. While some interviewees, both soldiers and people in higher positions, express anger towards the government, and others support what they are doing, there is no real political message with this film, just a look into a world that we at home are not familiar with. At one point in the film a lieutenant is asked about the feelings towards the war back home, and he states that what Americans see on the news is entertainment, whereas the soldiers are living a reality. "Gunner Palace" shows this reality.\nThe DVD does not feature many thrills and does not tote a "special edition" tag. There are 17 deleted scenes, all interesting, but worth the edit, and three extra freestyle raps about the war, which are impressive but also sobering in their nature. "Gunner Palace" set out to document a day in the life of an American soldier in Iraq and does just this. For those of you who are tired of constant news footage of bombings or Saddam discussing Doritos, this film will enlighten you. It opens our eyes to what is really happening overseas, and lets us be the judge of whether or not there is a right and a wrong side to the war.