In the same year thatJohn Waynewas inspired to give us his take on the Vietnam War by co-directing and starring inthe flag-wavingThe Green Berets, celebrated TV cameramanEugene S. Jonesshowed us how to make a proper Vietnam War film with his documentaryA Face of War. The 1968 movie is without a score, narration, or even dramatization. It simply observes. A former ABC cameraman, Jones embedded himself with a Marine unit for 97 days, filming what most movies don’t. Downtime, small talk, blood, interactions with locals, camaraderie, the writhing pain of injured soldiers, and the sunken faces of civilians watching their country being torn apart.Roger Ebert called ita “heart-wrenching masterpiece,” andThe New York Times praised itas “one of the most authentic, intimate, and remarkable war records ever put on film.” And yet,A Face of Warhas flown under the radar. It’s a real shame that the film isbarely talked about and rarely celebrated, as it is easilyone of the most brutally honest war films ever made.
‘A Face of War’ Is War Itself, Not a Movie About War
The first thing that strikes you aboutA Face of Waris its absence of commentary, cutaways to experts, or music (except a folk song that plays at the end) — tools most documentary makers often use to steer emotion. Instead, Jones adopts a cinéma vérité approach where he simply rolls the camera and lets the pictures and ambient sound tell the story. What this approach does is that it makes you feel part and parcel of the battle itself, more like a lived-in experience.There is no script. There is just life — and death — as it happens.
Filmed in 1966, Jones’ camera follows Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, capturing their day-to-day routines. The film opens with a hand loading a gun. Then we follow soldiers cautiously moving through rice fields. Suddenly, gunfire erupts, pretty much setting the tone for the rest of the film. It’s a pattern that repeats: one moment of inaction and boredom and the next, fighting for survival. In one sequence that depicts a literal matter of life and death, the Marines help deliver a baby in a surprisingly tender scene, and the next, they’re caught in the middle of an ambush. Jones explores what the soldiers do during the soldiers' lull moments — from playing American football in the mud to securing a loose water buffalo — and then the battles themselves, which often erupt abruptly.He guides his camera (not the cast)to show not just the action, but also the repercussions. There are wounded soldiers, dead bodies, desperate civilians, and soldiers’ faces that tell the whole story. “Please take me home!” One young Marine cries out loud, in a message that reverberates with the general feeling of the time back in America, where anti-war protests had taken shape.
This War Documentary Turns Three Minutes of Footage Into a Harrowing Full-Length Masterwork
An engrossing exploration of a tragic moment in time rediscovered by chance.
‘A Face of War’ Is Neither Pro-War Nor Anti-War
Treading the road less traveled, Jones’ film refuses to take a political stand. Many Vietnam War movies do the opposite. For instance,Oliver Stone’sPlatoonis staunchly anti-war, whileThe Siege of Firebase Glorialeans pro-military. In contrast,A Face of Wardoesn’t build its case for either side. Without a narrator to guide us and an agenda to lean on, Jones’ picture offers the viewer the company of Marines doing their job, trying to survive, and sometimes just doing whatever it takes to stay sane.
The film’s restraint is what makes it so affecting. Without any hint of moralization, it allows us to engage on our own terms. Its silence speaks. The soldiers’ daily, mundane activities resonate. We feel their fatigue. The film’s ending, a quiet postscript where names finally appear next to the faces we have come to know, followed by a final shot of a squad of Marines marching off to yet another mission, encapsulates Jones' vision. It’s a powerful sign-off that emphasizes hiscommitment to showing war as exactly as it is.Roger Ebertwas right.A Face of Waris a masterpiece because it dares to speak loudly in its quietness, which bears witness for those on the battlefield to what war feels like from the inside.
A Face of War
