War Photographer

The part I liked best about this film is the way it uses Nachtwey's camera to do the actual filming: on top of his still camera, the filmmakers mounted a little movie camera. The end result is that you can watch the scene unfolding as if you were looking through Nachtwey's own lens. Watching as he transforms scenes of violence, chaos, and noise into breathtaking still photographs is fascinating. Any shutterbugs out there will enjoy this movie for that aspect of it alone.

It's also a very moving film--very intense. I certainly can't get through it without tearing up, and when I looked around the theater I saw the same shock and grief on the faces of my fellow moviegoers. The ethos of the film seems to reflect the sentiment behind Nachtwey's own photographs; that is, you don't get the New York Times explanation of who the victims are, who the perpetrators are, or what the socio-political context is. The violence and suffering are presented simply: this thing happened to this person at this moment, and it was awful.

It's not too preachy; the viewer is left to ask her own questions about why and how these things happen. Sometimes all those explanations can obscure the individual lives that are contained in a word like "collateral damage." Nachtwey's photography, and this film, clarify that fact simply by observing it. That's the essence of the best documentary photography, and it's a great reason to see this film.

This film is incredible and shows the power of one man. Nachtwey has dedicated his life to being a war photographer and shows how one man can help shape public opinion with the power of images. As was the case in Vietnam, photos can be very subversive since they show the falseness and fraud of the government's official line or 'spin' on stories.

And thus we see that in the war in Iraq the gov't is keeping a tight lid on images. Once you see pictures of a 4 year old boy in a morgue with his limbs blown off, the generals and the politicians cannot, no matter how hard they try, justify it. this is why Al Jazeera has become the boogeyman of the west.

once people see enough of these images, they cannot support war any longer. this, i believe, is Nachtwey's vision and his struggle.

A successfully constructed biography of James Nachtwey who devoted his life to photography. When I researched James' life and first watched his biography, he has a personality that quickly eliminated the doubts I had, especially about war photography. I think it's important for viewers to have positive thoughts about him, as he is open minded and doesn't shy away from questioning himself on many issues and even criticizes the moral dimensions of different people who do what he does.

Although it's difficult to watch all the evil that war brings, we should congratulate the viewers who try to remain calm. The documentary also invites the audience to question humanity, good and evil at length. Watching the story of James, an important journalist who hopes that good and morality will one day prevail over evil, will add very positive things to you. In addition, the community of people who call themselves photographers and journalists but don't see this as anything other than making a profit from their job should also watch it.

One of the most profound aspect i found in this documentary, is the use of sound. I think it's one of the best, if not most calculated sound editing ever done, since the film supposed to focus on images. It's quite easy to overlook that, and will be forgiven even. But rather, the production teams managed to reflect the personality of James Nachtwey in result. A distant man, watching from a far, though awfully trying to get as near as possible, ... to get involved.

Personally i think, a lot, not all mind you, people misunderstood him. The reviews here reflect that. They might think that he have some personal agendas. Since i believe no people can escape side effects of wars, unless they're the ones who inflict them, i believe James have been greatly changed by his experience, in better or worse terms i have no idea, but he cannot run from it. He has to come back, to experience it all over again, to feel alive. It's vampirism all right, but not from the material, or the moral angle. He simply needs that sense of purpose, to live, and to fulfill his life, with higher aims to reach. I imagined he lost that sense a lot of times, and that must be painful.

For whatever reason he seems to have , it all comes down to this basic human need, to find their purpose, takes the journey and try to fulfill it. This is a reminder of that, for all of us. And for that, i am grateful for this film.

Stunning, shocking and beautiful, a "Pflicht-Film" about war photography and it's leading lenser James Nachtwey.

Originally commissioned for Swiss television, this documentary by Christian Frei may be hard to track down, but it might be one of the most memorable films you will ever see. More user comments probably will say "this film is not for the squeamish," but what we see here is the real-life inferno of war and poverty. And if you have never been subject to war and poverty you HAVE to see (Nachtwey's) photography, which demonstrates what the human race is capable of and what it looks like...