Inspiring war photographer docu includes upsetting scenes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Love+War is a powerful documentary about the American Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario, who specializes in war zones. The inspirational film showcases her courage and integrity but can be an upsetting watch when showing real-life death and destruction in Ukraine, Iraq, and other places of conflict. Addario is an incredible photographer who is driven to show the true effects of war to the world. She has a particular interest and access to women's stories and shares how one of her stories about preventable deaths during pregnancy in Sierra Leone led to a huge change. In the film, she explores her feelings about splitting time between her dangerous work and her family life in London. A wider theme shows the importance of integrity in journalism and highlights the courage of those who choose to cover conflict. The movie has some strong language, which includes variants of "f--k" and "s--t," mostly at times of danger or threat.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Distressing war footage includes attacks and their immediate aftermaths, with dead bodies shown, as well as injured people and grieving relatives of the victims of war crimes. The documentary crew are in dangerous situations and under extreme threat, and have to run to shelter numerous times. One story is about abused women attempting suicide by lighting themselves on fire with gasoline and photos are shown from the hospital burns unit. People mention kidnappings and beheadings. Addario tells the graphic and emotional story of her own kidnapping, attacks, and sexual assault in Libya. Her sisters joke that picking on her as a child made her strong. Short clip of 9/11 Twin Towers attack.
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Photojournalism—particularly in situations of conflict and war—can be powerful and necessary work, revealing untold stories and helping make change. But it requires courage, integrity, curiosity, and empathy, and is often difficult to maintain a work-life balance. Teamwork is also demonstrated when journalists work together in conflict areas to try to keep safe and make split-second decisions of where to be.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Photojournalists covering war and conflict are bold and dedicated to telling the devastating stories of civilians and soldiers. The movie follows Lynsey Addario, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, who documents war crimes in Ukraine and informs the world through her work. She is tough but also displays emotion while working, showing she is not disconnected from the things she sees. Andriy Dubchak is a Ukrainian journalist who says dark humor helps them to cope with the extreme threat and sadness around them. Addario's husband is a former journalist who is understanding of her need to cover these dangerous stories and takes care of their children back in London when she is away on assignment. He is also honest about the concerns he has and the effect it has on the family. Addario is also conflicted with serving her drive to work for the greater good and be present and safe with her family.
Diverse Representations
a lot
The documentary centers on Lynsey Addario, an Italian-American woman and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, who has faced gender discrimination in her male-dominated field. As a woman, she has been able to access areas unavailable to male journalists and specializes in documenting women's stories, particularly those affected by abuse and violence. Her husband takes on primary childcare responsibilities while she works, presenting a non-traditional family structure. The film features diverse voices and perspectives from war zones and conflict areas around the world. Directors Jimmy Chin (American of Chinese heritage) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (with Hungarian-Brazilian and Hong Kong heritage) bring multicultural perspectives to the storytelling.
In LOVE+WAR, award-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario looks back over her astonishing and dangerous career of telling stories from warzones, which includes harrowing footage from her recent assignment in Ukraine.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say :Not yet rated
Kids say:Not yet rated
Truly inspirational, Addario's story, told here in a remarkable documentary, is a reminder of the power of photography, the value of integrity, and the horror of war. Tough to watch and endlessly compelling, Love+War is a fascinating look at a spectacular life and a challenge for the viewer to confront upsetting truths. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Addario dodges a Russian shell that kills civilians on the street near her. She photographs the bodies of a mother and children and the war crime makes the front page of The New York Times. It's a dizzying, harrowing thing to see. But the man who lost his family says: "The whole world needs to know what's going on here." This need to show the effect of war and injustice is what drives Addario, as she tells her stories of working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone, and more. Back with her family, the documentary doesn't shy away from the strain on her husband and children, which only adds to what is an enthralling watch.
What character strengths do you think a war photojournalist needs? What examples from the documentary can you point to?
Would you describe Lynsey Addario as a positive role model? Why, or why not? What hurdles did she face that her male counterparts didn't?
Discuss the strong language used in the film. Swearing often took place in stressful situations. Why do you think some people use bad language in such situations?
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