I must share with you an experience my wife and I had the
other evening. We were invited, by our
local Member of Parliament, to a screening of a new Canadian movie called Hyena
Road. It is a drama about the Canadian
participation in the Afghan War. I was
written and produced by the Canadian actor Paul Gross who also starred in the
movie. You will remember that Mr. Gross
also made the movie Passchendaele a few years ago. He was also at the screening
and answered questions after the movie was over. He assured us that all of the incidents shown
in the movie were related by actual soldiers in the war. This gives the movie some sense of
legitimacy.
As for the movie itself, it is very graphic, but is probably
one of the most realistic depictions of war that you will see. Most war movies show some sort of hero doing
incredible deeds and coming out triumphant.
It is frequently softened by some sort of love story from the home front
as a contrast to the war. There is none
of that in this movie. It shows both male and female soldiers operating together. But mostly it shows the brutality of war,
along with the suffering and confusion of the battlefield. There is a story there that holds the movie
together and some interesting characters to give the movie a human face. But over it all is the war; a war that seems
to have no winners and no end. A war that Canada was involved with longer than
our involvement in World War 1 and 2 and Korea combined (2002 to 2015).
“ . . .
fighting often continues long past the point where a ‘rational’ calculation
would indicate that the war should be ended.”
From “Every War Must End” by Fred Ikle as quoted in “My American
Journey” by Colin L. Powell, General (Rtd) US Army.
I bring all this to your attention because you can get a
chance to watch this movie this Sunday evening at 8 PM on CBC television
commercial free. It would be a
worthwhile investment of your time to see this excellent movie to end the
Remembrance Day weekend.
“You can
no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.”
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