Little Rock Film Festival 2010: War is Still Hell

"I don't know what they did in the four or five thousand years of civilized history before we had film," said Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe at the festival's closing night gala where filmmakers were present for the awards ceremony. "I'm sure they told some kind of stories but they never could tell them as well as you all could. They never could, I think, penetrate the depths of people's souls the way you can penetrate those depths." Beebe's support has led to more favorable tax incentives for filmmakers wanting to work in Arkansas. And he's right about their abilities to penetrate the soul--evident in this year's documentaries.

Two insightful viewpoints are shared in two separate documentaries about the war in Afghanistan. In Restrepo (above) we follow a platoon of U.S. soldiers deployed in the Korengal Valley, what CNN once called the deadliest place on earth. Dealing with at least four fire fights per day instills a comradery among the troops that is especially evident when one of them is killed in action. (The film's title comes from a fallen comrade.) Plenty of full force, in-your-face action with some wrenching emotion. Camp Victory, Afghanistan offers another perspective of the war with its look at the Afghan army. Whereas American troops regularly reenlist, voluntarily, the Afghan army must contend with soldiers leaving and going home. When the commanding officer is begging his troops to not run away during a battle it shines a light on the quandary of fighting a war for the defense of a country whose citizens won't even take action themselves.

Racing Dreams follows three young go-kart racers, ages 11-13, who are competing for the national championship of World Karting. These are not the go-karts I remember as a kid. The races are huge events on quality tracks and are considered to be an important step in these youngsters becoming NASCAR drivers. The filmmakers not only do an amazing job at building suspense in the actual races but they also let us into the kids' homes and reveal the sacrifices by their families to keep their dreams alive. And there are some surprising results.