Above The Best was an exceptionally inspirational documentary that presented a story about US soldiers who fought in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The film was presented through the unique lens of actual raw footage that was captured by the soldiers themselves. An element in the film that I found particularly moving was seeing how the American soldiers teamed together with Afghan troops, which really emphasized the tone of togetherness and selflessness. One of the Afghans, Naser Ahmadi, showed a great deal of heroism while risking his life for his brothers in battle and presented a unique perspective of what occurred during the war. With that being said, Above The Best was a film that guided me to feel a great sense of empathy for these heroes and I really want to encourage you to give it a watch too.

In order to avoid spoilers, I may be a bit vague here. The overarching story of the bravery of Army air support crews is a good one. It is something I am interested in and it should have been easy for this film to engage me and make me happy I watched it. But sadly, it failed to do that. I say sadly because I was interested and wanted to know more and to understand. Instead I just ended up confused. The film begins with one tale in Afghanistan. A sad and terrible tale. Switches to a stateside tale in Maryland. Then returns to Afghanistan but never effectively ties them all together. The first story gets lost entirely. I still have no idea how it relates to the main thrust of the film. The second and third tales are related but there are huge unanswered questions about how they became connected. I was very interested in this film but ended up disappointed.

Director David Salzberg defines what he believes it means to be an American soldier in his newest documentary, and he does so with absolute grace. Armed with an abundance of archival footage, Salzberg substitutes the excessive gore that is typically associated with the war genre and replaces it with highly personal interviews that reveal the heart that goes into every mission. The talking heads of this film are not afraid to reveal both the pride and personal sacrifice that went into the Korengal "Valley of Death". These accounts serve as fluid narration to complement immersive raw footage that puts viewers in the front lines of service. Hopefully, Salzberg's documentary serves as both a tribute to the brave men and women who have and continue to put the interests of the greater good above their own, as well as a reminder that in war, there is more at stake than lives.