Finally we have a film set against the backdrop of the Iraq war that is a success.
Some put this down to the timing of The Hurt Locker and the fact that for many Americans the war is perceived as over. Afghanistan is the new crucible of conflict, allowing a reflection on Iraq that does not prejudice the lives of troops still in theatre. Indeed the most memorable Vietnam War films were released years after the Americans departed the scene.
More likely, however, the film's success is due to its excellent production, assured acting displays from largely unknown actors and a gripping storyline. But what about the politics? The absence of an overt political agenda has led some reviewers to suggest that the film is simply a well-made, apolitical glimpse into the lives of soldiers.
The Times praised its "refusal to engage with explicit political comment", while Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed that "here's the Iraq war movie for those who don't like Iraq war movies. The Hurt Locker doesn't preach".
Former US president George Bush regularly promised that history would prove a validation to the wisdom of his decision to invade the country. Yet while his presidential library remains unopened, films such as The Hurt Locker are providing jigsaw pieces towards a developing popular culture that may define how the Iraq war is perceived by generations to come.
While the film does not attempt to engage in the debate over going to war, its power is in its portrayal of the chasm of separation that divides the occupier and the occupied. This reality is informed by the film's scriptwriter, who has spent time embedded with a US bomb disposal team in Iraq.
Any pretense of human connection between the Americans and the Iraqis not characterized by ultraviolence or the threat of it is dismissed by one particular carefully crafted scene where the (anti?)hero sneaks out of the Green Zone to chase a suspect. His dashing around the Red Zone in a cinematic blur is witnessed by an astounded array of Iraqis, all of whom are viewed as potential "bad guys". Upon returning to base the soldier is greeted by an aggressive torchlight and the screams of sentries on hair-trigger alert. You're almost surprised he isn't physically decontaminated having come into contact with the "real" Iraq. The message is clear. Before the belated compromise and "people protection" of the surge, there were the Red and Green Zones, "them" and "us." This dichotomy is reinforced by the excellent behavior of the central characters themselves. Their bravery and self-sacrifice is a reminder that it has not been the actors but rather the stage of war itself that is responsible for the enveloping chaos.
Indeed, as GQ's review summarizes, the Iraq of Bigelow's vision is one of "hell, lit by fire and rent by the screams of women and children".
The film captures the essence of a variety of aspects of the Iraq war, many of which are encapsulated in the very IEDs that the central characters are tasked to destroy. IEDs are the biggest killer of US troops in Iraq and have become a symbol of the conflict; they are to Iraq what napalm was to Vietnam. The IED is an apt metaphor for what Iraq became for the Americans. An unconventional, asymmetric threat that adapted to attempts to control it; from a simple buried 155mm shell or mortar round to remote-detonated shaped charges. Despite American attempts to maintain an advantage through technological strength, organizations such as the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization were always facing an thankless task regardless of the amounts of money thrown at them.
As Iraq descended into civil conflict, the increasing sophistication and moral degeneration in the usage of the bombs made them almost impossible to defend against: bombs delivered strapped to women, people with Down's Syndrome remotely detonated, bombs hidden in the corpses of children or tied to animals. They are a tactic of the weak that can quickly highlight the shortcomings of the strong.
Ultimately the film's most powerful image places the bomb disposal expert in a self-contained suit approaching one of these IEDs. Like an urban astronaut, he is symbolic of the otherworldly status that Iraq has achieved. Perhaps the greatest challenge that Bigelow has outlined is not who can win the battle for the legacy of Iraq, but rather how any future human connection will be re-established by the two main participants in this most bloody of escapades.