Country: USA
Year: 2004
Duration: 36'
When Warner Brothers asked David O. Russell to make a documentary for the DVD
version of Three Kings, the director decided to interview veterans of the Gulf
War, Iraqis who fled to the United States, journalists, politicians and
psychologists. The picture of corruption and immorality that emerged from the
testimony he gathered - plus the imminent elections - induced Warner Brothers to
abandon the project, which has been released thanks to an independent
distributor.
"Troubling questions began to emerge from both sides. For instance, it became
clear that 'requisitioning' of items of all kinds, including TV and computers,
was routinely done by American forces in Iraqi communities - a practice called
'living off the land' that is traditionally associated with conquesting armies,
not liberatine armies. […] The soldiers uniformly report how ill equipped
American forces were while private Halliburton contractors earn huge salaries
and enjoy vast privileges and the best equipment available. Is this a mission of
democracy or
a mission of profiteering?" (D.O. Russell)
Biography
film director
David O. Russell
David O. Russell debuted as a director with Spanking the Monkey, which won the Audience Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. His next films were the comedy Flirting With Disaster (1996) and Three Kings (1999), appreciated by both the critics and the public.
FILMOGRAFIA
Spanking the Monkey (1994), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Three Kings (Id., 1999), I Heart Huckabees (2004), Soldiers Pay (co-regia, Tricia Regan, Juan Carlos Zaldivar, 2004).
Tricia Regan
Tricia Regan made the documentary A Leap of Faith in 1996, presented at the Sundance Film Festival and she then made a series of short films for the Children's Defense Fund. She is now working on the sequel to A Leap of Faith and a new documentary about the war in Iraq.
FILMOGRAFIA
A Leap of Faith (1996), Soldiers Pay (co-Regia David O. Russell, Juan Carlos Zaldivar, 2004).
Juan Carlos Zaldivar
Juan Carlos Zaldivar, produttore e regista, ha studiato cinema alla New York University's Film School. Ha realizzato video installazioni e performance artistiche e ha diretto il documentario 90 Miles.
FILMOGRAFIA
Juan Carlos Zaldivar Story of the Red Rose (1998), 90 Miles (2001), Soldiers Pay (co-regia Tricia Regan,David O. Russell, 2004).