Eyes of War

This movie is basically about how even a photojournalist(Colin Farrell) who is a vet at taking pictures of war and death can be traumatized. The story starts off with a very ambitious journalist and photographer that sees the horrors of war with his partner and best friend. The thing is at first I just didn't think the stuff he went through in the beginning section of the movie would be enough to traumatize a person like the photojournalist in the movie. But there is enough flashbacks later on to show the reason why. I personally thought it should have put more emphasis on the horrors of war and the part about the photojournalist's wife figuring out the change in her husband seemed to drag. Also some of the situation just isn't all that believable, and believability is a key factor for a movie like this. And most of the story revolve around digging into the photojournalist's mind because of his change in character and the change in his character isn't anything all that terrible. It starts to pick up and get a bit interesting when Christopher Lee who is basically a psychologist in this is put into the equation. And the digging of the mind got interesting and this movie has some good parts. But the direction and everything else isn't all that well made in a professional manner and just seemed like a work done by a novice. Now not all movies should look professional in order for it to be better, but this is the type of film that would have been better if it went that direction.

5.5/10

TRIAGE is a well chosen title for this film about who survives an who dies in war: at times those triage decisions are made by serendipity (read 'bad luck'), at times they are made by physicians or medics tending the wounded on the battlefield, and at times they are submerged in the apparent 'survivors' only to later crush the life from those who make it home. Writer/Director Danis Tanovic has adapted Scott Anderson's novel is a manner that carries the seemingly simple act of 'triage' throughout the film, showing how that action can affect the lives of friends, family, and psychological wholeness of the victim.

Mark Walsh (Colin Farrell, in yet another powerful role) and his buddy David (Jamie Sives) are war photographers for a newspaper edited by Amy (Juliet Stevenson). Their current assignment is Kurdistan and the terrifying realities they not only experience but also commit to film are of such a horrid nature that they both are in shock: they not only witness killings and landmine explosion deaths, but they also watch one Dr. Talani (Branko Djuric) triage the wounded, deciding who can survive care and who is so near death that they are put aside to be later 'executed' by Dr. Talani in a compassionate gesture to end their futile suffering. The tension is so great that David decides to return home, leaving Mark to carry on the assignment. An explosion occurs and Mark is seriously injured but survives and after being tended by Dr. Talani he is encouraged to return home. There is no news as to where David is.

Mark returns home to his adoring Elena (Paz Vega), presents his photographs to Amy, and begins to heal: David's wife Diane (Kelly Reilly) is due to deliver their first child in two weeks and has had no word from David. We watch as Mark, eroded by his experiences in Kurdistan, retreat into a state of decline. Elena grows fearful as Mark, despite hospitalizations and medical care, continues to deteriorate and out of desperation she calls her grandfather Joaquin, a psychiatrist who treated the victims of the Spanish Civil War (Elena is still angry that her own grandfather treated the perpetrators of the destruction that war caused). Joaquin slowly brings Mark into the acceptance of how his mind has triaged the events in Kurdistan and leads Mark to discover the truths about incidents in what war for which he has blamed himself. We finally understand David's disappearance at the moment when his and Diane's child is born.

This is a tough story to watch: subtitles would help the audience understand the many dialects used in the film. But the message is clear and the acting is superb by every member of the cast, even very small but cogent cameos by Reece Ritchie as a boy in Beirut and Dada Ashi as a Ugandan woman - two of the early incidents Mark must remember and face in his work with Joaquin. The cinematography is dazzling, especially the use of flashbacks of a raging river so important in Mark's memory recall, and the constant focus on the blue and yellow tags that mark the triage decisions. This is another powerful anti-war film, this time as seen through the eyes of a non-combatant observer. It is important to see.

Grady Harp

this is the third of the 2009 Colin Farrell movies which I have recently following on from Doctor Parnassus and Crazy Heart but this surely is his finest acting performance in a movie to date.

There are many movies of course about war and more recently about Iraq. this is not really an Iraq war story but Colin Farrell does play as a war journalist in Kurdistan and returns from there with a trauma wjhich engrosses the main story of the film.

the film title of TRIAGE is a strange one and requires looking up as to meaning before or after watching the movie. the context of TRIAGE within the movie occurs as i recall in only one actual scene of the film when the Kurdistani Doctor is seen having to play 'God' in order to decide who lives and dies.

Like the American movie 'Brothers', somebody returns from a war-torn drama with a psychological trauma and with a story to tell which is not what the folks back home are expecting. Farrells acting performance is spot on all the way and there are one or two graphic scenes in the film, one near the end, which will definitely make you flinch and probably weep.

overall this is not a powerful film like The Hurt Locker and I disagree with the earlier comment about the Grandfather. He clearly has an important part to play in the movie and Farrell links to all the main characters effortlessly.

Okay it was not filmed in Kurdistan for whatever reason and Kurdistani actors/extra may or may not have been used.

Despite the graphic scenes, I commend this movie for viewing. It is not top notch but it is certainly entertaining.

Would have liked to have seen more focus on the concept of the film title and exploration of issues relating to triage rather than the story which eventually evolved between the character of mark Walsh (Farrell) and his best friend David. I really doubt many people will watch the movie and know what TRIAGE means.

Not on general release anywhere I understand, privileged to watch it on good quality DVD.

Specialist, low-budget, low-key but praise-able Colin Farrell stars in this tough, low budget British war film, as an army photographer right in the thick of Iraqi fighting war-zones. He returns home to Ireland and struggles to readjust, being shell shocked.

The story, although very real, sometimes seems diluted and gets lost. The acting is effortless, solid and ultimately low-key, like the film, and fails to be anything but unimpressive - even if commendable in nature. The tone is moody, chilling at times and the pace is slow and emotion building (making it hard to submerse in).

In Summary - Not everyone's cup of tea and almost too morose to be enjoyed. I think Farrell fans will prefer it as he is the main piece. A commendable production.

If you like this movie, you should go out and buy/rent "No man's land" from the same director. I haven't seen "L'Enfer" yet, but I'm sure that one is good too. At first I was amazed by the actors at hand here, but the script proves to have been a big part in their involvement. The dialogue and the delivery is just spot on.

And when you watch Christopher Lee going one-on-one with Colin Farrell, you just wish there could have been more scenes, with those two together. There is a great chemistry surrounding them and when they grace the screen together it's almost like magic. There is this constant pushing and delivering, that makes those scenes special.

But of course, the rest of the movie is not lacking in tension and/or good performances. Quite the contrary. Especially the doctor and the others involved all have there scenes. The editing does the rest and makes this more than above average.