An intense documentary about the tremendous tension between observation and interpretation. The pilots and gunners of attack helicopters who carry out nighttime missions in war zones make decisions wi..
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An intense documentary about the tremendous tension between observation and interpretation. The pilots and gunners of attack helicopters who carry out nighttime missions in war zones make decisions with far-reaching consequences, not only for their targets, but for themselves as well; the fear of making a mistake is ever-present.
During their flights, the soldiers use thermal cameras to observe movement on the ground: anything that gives off heat lights up. From a distance, landscapes, villages, people, and animals become abstract patches of light and dark, lines, surfaces, and contours. Is the figure among them a Taliban fighter with a Kalashnikov or a shepherd with a stick?
Filmmaker Éléonore Weber had access to video recordings of French and American missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. A French helicopter pilot related his often-shocking experiences to her. What begins as a monotone video essay gradually develops a powerful tension, because as viewers we find ourselves in the pilot’s seat. We catch fragments of conversations between crew members; we look, zoom in, interpret, hesitate—and then comes the explosion.
To shoot: a gun or a movie camera. The military analogy is born with the beginning of cinema. Eléonore Weber's (Les Hommes Sans Gravité, IndieLisboa 2008) documentary is exclusively based upon footage recorded by French and American soldiers in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. From the top of their helicopters, a viewfinder scans the night and watches for suspicious activity from moving heat dots. They have the power to take or keep lives.