I think it is difficult to make a war documentary. I also think it is difficult to make a bad war documentary, or at least an uninteresting one. I mean this in the following sense: there are so many atrocious and spellbinding events attached to war, that it is hard not to capture one on camera if you are in the middle of it all. However, I should also say this: It is by no means easy to be in such close proximity to dangerous situations. And if that didn’t make sense, then I’ll say this: I liked Restrepo.

Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger followed the soldiers of Battle Company 2^nd of the 503^rd Infantry Regiment 173^rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team for one year. They followed them through the KorangalValley, considered to be one of the most dangerous battle zones and strategic strongholds for the Taliban forces inAfghanistan.

This movie does not focus on gore or violence or senseless death for the sake of shock value. No, it hones in on the mind of the man and the mind of the soldier. Interspersed with emotional interviews, the movie tells the story of a group of soldiers whose job it is to monitor enemy territory and pass the time until the next bullet flies. There is a lot of time. Restrepo is not one glorious firefight after another. It is not an endless siege on a military base or a daring rescue mission. Restrepo shows a side of war that is never sensationalized because it is never seen. I’m talking about men who must pass the time by building and rebuilding barriers, burning their waste, and staying present.

There are moments when you simply are given the chance to see a group of soldiers who appears to be no more than a group of boys—playing around and trying to make the best of things. However, then the gunshots go off, the helmets go on, and everyone takes cover.

War documentaries give many of us only a glimpse into a world that we could never imagine living in. Restrepo gives us a year. And it is a year worth checking out.