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“A brilliant film. **** (out of 5)” — Liz Braun, Toronto Sun “While never letting its tone of studious but stewing detachment slip, the movie quietly builds a truly enraging case for a certain form of systematic official cynicism. *** (out of 4)” — Geoff Pevere, thestar.com “Rather than simply offering an indictment of US foreign policy, the film attempts to give a fuller record of Gutierrez’s life through diligent legwork. *** (out of 4)” — Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail “Rescuing its subject from the status of a historical footnote, this striking documentary by Swiss filmmaker Heidi Specogna fleshes out the scanty details of the life of the first Marine killed in the Iraq War to create a haunting story of poverty, hope and misfortune.” — Eye Magazine “A damning indictment of an immigration policy that allows non-citizens the chance to die for a country not yet theirs and a bleak look at the poverty and desperation that make that chance look attractive.” — Dierdre Swain, NOW Magazine “Never has the famous quotation, that the first casualty during wartime is the truth, seemed more ironically accurate.” — Peter Roffman, Bloor Cinema “Specogna looks beyond the narrow scope of biography or politics to paint a portrait of a people prepared to do anything to survive.” — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles City Beat “A fellow Marine's description of the exact moment of Gutierrez's death is crushing in its intimacy, both for the emotions of the teller and the excruciating tale being told.” — Mark Olson, Los Angeles Times “Hollywood bought the rights to [his] life story” — Brian Miller, The Village Voice “A classic tale of an up-by-your-bootstraps immigrant” — Matt Zoller Seitz, The New York Times “Now, more than ever, it should be seen here in the U.S. for its ironies, both implicit and explicit.” — Andrew Sarris, The New York Observer “A well-researched, graceful film.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly “Sensitively and methodically tells the story of the first U.S. soldier killed in the 2003 Iraq invasion… distinguished by Specogna's intelligent and politically aware narration.” — Robert Koehler, Variety “An artful film… a sad, illuminating story.” — David Ansen, Newsweek “Profound… one of those docs that takes the life of an individual and surrounds it with other people’s stories that are just as absorbing.” — Michael Ferraro, Film Threat “A kind of detective story tracing the path of Guttierez from the Guatemalan streets to the desert of Iraq, finding a link between… the war in Iraq and the crisis in illegal immigration from the south.” — Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail “One of my favorite documentaries of the year is so timely that I'm saddened to learn that it still hasn't been widely distributed in the States since I saw it in January, even though it seems to fill a void in the public debate.” — Rob Davis, Errata “A superb miniature of globalization.” — Patricia Aufderheide, In These Times “Several people have told me that they think The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez is the best film of the festival. It's surely one of the best.” “****” — Jason Anderson, Eye Weekly “Impeccably crafted… An unforgettable tale of hope and tenacity.” — Jeff Shannon, The Seattle Times “His story sheds light on countless others that remain untold… Fighting America's wars in the hope of becoming American.” — Michael Guillen, twitch “Mesmerizing — Compelling documentary” — Michael Den Boer, 10kbullets Related Links of Interest |
doc@reviews generated by litk 0.550 on Thursday, February 7,
2008. Development & maintenance: DIM.