War Photographer

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...

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.

This film manages to show us an extraordinary slice of life, and make a significant comment on western society at the same time. The directer

remains distant-letting Nachtway and others make the point. Ingenious use of multiple cameras as well as Nachtway's "still" black and white photos make this compelling to watch as well.

Regardless of location or assignment this should be a primer for all working journalists as well as all journalism students.

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.

I watched this film and was riveted throughout. The image quality is very high. Watching James Nachtwey work in silence with total dedication and focus while flames crackle in the background... this film is a masterpiece of understated intensity. Everybody has seen this photographers images - they just may not realize who the author of those images are. Watch this film to find out why one (and many other) individual takes the risks and endures the hardships to freeze-frame and expose the uglier sides of human nature.