Winter's Bone vs. Restrepo

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The two best films of 2010 I've seen so far. Both films' greatest strength is their honesty. In Restrepo, that honesty is in its bare-bones style, showing only what happens and giving no direct commentary, other than what the soldiers themselves provide, and letting the terror inherent to their situation dictate the mood of the film; in Winter's Bone, the honesty lies in the characters on screen, where no one looks like they were cast from outside a 5-mile radius in the Ozarks, anchored by two of the best performances I've seen in years (Jennifer Lawrence as Ree and John Hawkes as Teardrop). Ultimately, I think Winter's Bone is a more satisfying film, though neither film provides a pat hollywood answer to any questions raised. If you haven't seen either of these films, please go out and see them if you can; it's a shame most people don't even know these films exist.

RESTREPO was awful, by far the worst film/documentary I saw in 2010!

If "Restrepo" was the worst movie you saw in 2010 you must have only watched masterpieces. There's very little subject matter more compelling than war, and "Restrepo" was fraught with tension, angst, fear and even a little humor. It searched for humanity in the inhumane state of combat. That Hetherington and Junger were not nominated for their cinematography is a blight on the Academy Awards; unlike many contemporary films I could actually follow the events in "Restrepo" and the film looks great. The editing is taut, the soldiers's interview segments are gripping and articulate, and the sound mix is extraordinary given the nature of the recording. Everything that you go to the movies to find is in "Restrepo."

admiralpiett, you are on the right track there. I didn't quite feel the same way about Restrepo, but I love you're comment "Both films' greatest strength is their honesty.".

Totally agree with the honesty comment. Although I would tend to pick "Winter's Bone" as well (if only for John Hawkes), "Restrepo" was among the best of last year. I would venture to say "Exit Through the Gift Shop" was the best documentary of the year, but "Restrepo" was a VERY close second.

JRM
JRM

Restrepo was incredible. I wanted to like Winter's Bone -- I really did -- but it bored me to tears. There are slow paced films . . . then there's Winter's Bone.