Product Description

An unflinchingly candid portrait of a squad of American Soldiers deployed in the doomed Iraqi city of Falluja during the winter of 2004. Filmmakers Garrett Scott and Ian Olds were given full access to all operations of the Army's famed 82nd Airborne, and lived with the unit 24/7.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44707 in DVD
• Brand: Koch International
• Released on: 2006-03-07
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 78 minutes

Amazon.com
Many Americans drive around with "Support Our Troops" stickers affixed to their vehicles, and if Occupation: Dreamland is any indication, the men and women who are serving their country in Iraq could certainly use it. Filmed in early 2004, director-editor Ian Olds' documentary (for which he was given full access by the U.S. authorities) follows a group of soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed in al-Falluja (also known as Falloujah), Iraq's "city of mosques," where their mission is to maintain the peace and root out insurgents, but their goal is simply to survive their tours of duty and go home. Many of these young men, a lot of them poor and under-educated, joined the military because they lacked viable career or life alternatives; once stationed in Iraq, they clearly wonder why they are there ("What exactly are we protecting?" asks one. "I don't know"). Their daily lives, at least as depicted rather matter-of-factly by Olds, seem to consist of stretches of drudgery punctuated by occasional outbursts of gunfire and dangerous activity, along with meetings in which officers try to persuade them to re-enlist once their contracts expire. Although there are snipers and bombers around, we don't witness any casualties (filming was completed before the Marines laid bloody siege to al-Falluja in April of that same year). Instead, what we see is an uneasy co-existence between locals who don't want them there ("America can go to the moon and make nuclear rockets," says one Iraqi, "but it can't make the people") and soldiers who are duty-bound to fulfill their missions and understand why they are mistrusted, but have little sympathy for those they are supposed to help ("I hate these people," mutters one). They may call their base of operations "Dreamland" (it's actually an abandoned Ba'athist retreat), but for most of these guys, "nightmare" might be more appropriate. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

It's about time
We've all seen so much of the debate for and against the war, the glamorous hollywood depictions, the local hero eulogies in our home towns, but this is the first movie that I've known of that lets the soldiers speak for themselves. It's important and truly fascinating to see what really goes on in Iraq, day to day on the streets and in the bunk rooms. Everybody says they support the troops but it's so easy to forget that they're a diverse group of individuals with dreams, fears, and opinions about this work that they're doing. It's also really interesting to see them interact with the Iraqi citizens and to get their view on the occupation.
As a person with a close family member recently sent home after getting injured in Iraq, these soldiers really ring true to me. I was happy to get to know them a little bit through this film. These men and women are slowly returning and picking up their lives. If we truly support them, we will make an effort to understand what they've been through as we welcome them back home.

Film of the Year
I really found this film affecting. It is not partisan or simplistic. It respects our troops by listening and being there. The military team the audience gets to hang with is strikingly diverse on every level. I walked out of the theater thinking that insight is more interesting than "answers". Every American should see this film.

unflinchingly real
Two primary thoughts I would convey about Occupation Dreamland: 1) It's very real. This is not a typical war film... it embraces reality with two arms wrapped around it and brings you inside a situation that is on the brink of chaos. 2) No matter which side of the political debate you reside on, Dreamland is a film you ought to see.