Restrepo a film by director Sebastian Junger and cinematographer Tim Hetherington

There is a documentary called Restrepo, and it has stayed with me for years. It is a wartime snapshot of the conditions U.S. troops endured while traversing Afghanistan in the years following 9/11, tasked with hunting terrorist cells and confronting an enemy that was often invisible and undefined. What moved me most was how deeply the filmmakers embedded themselves within a single platoon. This was not coverage from a distance. It was lived experience. As someone who once dreamed of becoming a war journalist but never found that path, watching this firsthand account was both thrilling and sobering. You feel the adrenaline, the fear, and the exhaustion, but you are also forced to confront the larger, harder questions. Why were we there? Who exactly was the enemy? And what does victory even look like in a place like this?

The interviews, shot after the soldiers returned home, are burned into my memory. Framed against a black background in a dark room, they feel like confessions rather than commentary. There is no spectacle, no dramatic flourish, just faces carrying the weight of what they experienced. That approach deeply influenced how I think about documentary interviews and how close a camera should be allowed to get. Restrepo reinforced my belief that the most powerful stories emerge when you create a space where people feel safe enough to speak honestly about the human cost of their experiences.

I hold a high regard for both the director Sebastian Junger and his partner and cinematographer Tim Hetherington. Hetherington later lost his life in 2011 while covering the Libyan civil war, killed by shrapnel during a mortar attack in Misrata. His death is a sobering reminder of the risks carried by journalists who choose to stand closest to the truth. His work was never about spectacle, only about humanity, dignity, and bearing witness. My deepest respect and condolences remain with his family, friends, and colleagues. If you get the chance to watch Restrepo, I highly recommend it, not because it explains war, but because it refuses to simplify it.