A Good Day to Die, Hoka Hey

From FARC to Fedayeen, from Bangkok to Baghdad. Jason leads you through a macabre series of dances with death. Hoka Hey climaxes in the rush of an IED in Helmand and the confrontation with a staid MOD (Ministry of Defence) in London. You return to narco strife and guerilla warfare where your lover packs a pistol. You tag along with your brother who is a Pro Paratrooper in Afghanistan. A rocker fueled life lived under extreme duress, driven by the passion of photojournalism as it transgresses from from film to digital. Then the dissolve to a quiet existence in southern Spain and the battle against PTSD and poverty. Hoka Hey has you hanging in there ...

With seemingly no genuinely humble connection to many of the stories behind the photos, this documentary comes across as particularly transactional and false. Perhaps Jason is the only thing Jason loves more than his photos and this 90 minute documentary exercise in self- love stands as a clear testament to this sentiment. Frankly if Jason had taken my photo I would've ensured he couldn't have profiteered from it, as I could think of nothing worse than enriching and emboldening a man who sees himself as such a martyr.

Whilst reflecting on a day when a man lost both of his legs, serving his country, Jason feels the need to reiterate how valued he was in the ensuing CASEVAC, whilst staring forlornly into the middle distance. They shook his hand! Why couldn't more photo-journo's be like him?!

I'm glad I chose to rent this documentary rather than to buy it outright. I got a chance to see the footage that I wanted to see, although there wasn't much of it - plenty of airtime for monologues in CPs and wide angle shots of Jason putting his kit on, though. A boring and self-absorbed piece of work.

With the subject matter being so graphic and visceral, it's very easy for any doco on conflict to turn into some kind of war porn extravaganza but I'm very happy to say that "A GOOD TO DIE, HOKA HEY" was not that.

In fact, my wife and I were stuck by how the whole film was very reserved, and handled the sensitive subject matter with care and respect. I felt that Jason showed a vulnerable and human side to himself, wracked by years of conflict photography.

It is a very sobering film, and makes you realise how dangerous, silly, and REAL war is.

I was very impressed that the director and writer managed to string together a very strong and cogent thread from Jason's body cam / helmet cam footage. This is often a very difficult task, and they achieve it brilliantly. It feels like the footage has been shot for the purpose of the film, which is not the case. It often feels sometimes like the viewer is the one wearing the helmet, thus immersing themself in the battlefield and within Jason's story.

Jason Howe isn't deified in this film, and neither is he absolved from his own complicity in the consumption of war. He admits it openly. It is a good film about a flawed man, and worth your time.