Gunners Palace: The Iraq War Like Never Before
US Director Michael Tucker in a Warts-and-all Portrayal of Army Life
Jan 27, 2009
Micheal Tucker immerses himself in this participatory documentary by living among a group of American soldiers in post invasion Iraq and it is this encounter between filmmaker and subject that propels the films entertaining, poignant and confronting narrative.
Life in a War Zone:
The soldiers are stationed in the bombed out palace of Saddam Hussein's first son Uday -which they have nicknamed Gunner‘s Palace. This film portrays real life as soldiers live it and we are invited into that reality through Tucker’s questions and personal experiences. The soldiers party at Uday's swimming pool, work at their laptops, patrol the streets in the dangerous district of Baghdad, do raids and make arrests. Despite being in a war zone, this documentary is light on scenes of violence (we only see artillery, machine guns, rifles and grenade launchers being fired during training sessions) instead Gunner’s Palace primarily draws drama from its personalities. The soldiers speak directly to the camera, in response to Tuckers many questions, which are put on titles for us to read. As the encounter between film-maker and subject is recorded, we learn how it feels to be a solider.
The Participatory Documentary Mode:
Tucker, as the film-maker, actively engages with the situation he is documenting. We view the opening scene from the camera’s chaotic point of view when they are under fire. We experience lots of shaky hand held camera operation and the opening sequence is shot from the waist down by its cameraman who runs alongside the soldiers. Tucker narrates in first person which highlights his own involvement as the film maker in this subjective, personal-essay style documentary.
The Performative Documentary Mode:
By definition, performative documentaries stress subjective experience and emotional responses to the world and Tuckers choice to slip into this mode reveals the reality of many soldiers. By making the camera a part of the action, this documentary prompts the soldiers to begin performing for it. Most of the soldiers come from poor families in small towns and all wonder if they'll get home alive. A couple of them channel their fears into rap lyrics and admit they could say things in the guise of rap music that they would never say in a serious interview.
In Conclusion:
Ultimately the social exchange between filmmaker and subject is fundamental to this film. In its conclusion, we see Tucker flying back to Germany sharing a plane with wounded soldiers, many of whom he lived with. He leaves us with the sobering thought, ‘Unlike a movie, war has no end’ We are then shown a list of people who appeared in the documentary who have since died. The movie draws to a close as we read a political statement that suggests the film maker questions the rational of this war.
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