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War, Uncensored - Footage by former Marine now an award-winning documentary
By Ryan Fennell
RBC graduate, Mike Scotti, at the Rome Film Festival, where his documentary Severe Clear received Special Mention for Cinematic Excellence in 2009.
When first lieutenant Michael Scotti set off on a routine deployment as a U.S. Marine in August of 2001, he brought his digital video camera along to capture what he envisioned as "this great adventure" around the world.
Instead, the Red Bank Catholic High School graduate found himself at the apex of history.
With his camera, Scotti created a provocative firsthand account of the 2003 invasion of Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The scenes that Scotti recorded are now featured in the documentary film Severe Clear, directed by Kristian Fraga and distributed by Sirk Productions, which is scheduled for release this Friday, March 12 at the Angelika Theater in New York.
The film captures Scotti's raw experiences, from his 40-day voyage across the Arabian Sea and the taking of Baghdad to his return home to the United States, showing .in real time, the challenges the soldiers faced and the emotional struggles that accompany the horrors of war.
The fight was especially personal to Scotti, as he carried a photo of his former classmate at RBC, Beth Quigley, who was a victim of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.
"I thought that story of Beth, and Mike carrying the photo, was a major component to the narrative," Fraga said. "That was a really important part of Mike's journey. I thought it was a way for the audience to understand another aspect of Mike that would help illuminate his journey; the man as much as the Marine."
Scotti found out about Quigley's death shortly before setting foot in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.
"That was sitting squarely in my mind as we helicoptered into Afghanistan to take on the Taliban," Scotti said.
The film also exposes the lack of proper equipment and personnel the Marines struggled with as they made their way from Kuwait into the Baghdad capital.
Scotti noted that there were a lot of Marines, including himself, without "strike plates" to place into their flak jackets that could stop a direct hit from an AK-47, and the limited number that were available were distributed to the lowest ranking Marines.
The lack of equipment ultimately became a matter of public controversy.
"One of the major reasons to do this film was because as I was watching the war on TV and reading the paper, to see Mike's footage and listen to Mike talk about it, blew my mind," Fraga said. "They were the ones fighting the war and their radios would die out so they would listen to the BBC. That to me blew my mind. All of these elements people will see in our movie and hopefully encourage discussion."
A poignant moment in the film involves the death of a young Iraqi civilian girl who was killed at a Marine checkpoint.
According to Scotti a vehicle was speeding toward the checkpoint and did not stop, which resulted in the Marines opening fire on the vehicle.
The occupants were a father and his daughter.
"At the time it was speeding toward a Marine checkpoint without stopping," Scotti said. "In the minds of the Marines, they were combatants. It's not what the Marines want to do, but in war the difference between life and death can be a split second."
Earlier in the film a Marine Colonel speaks about the split-second decisions that would stay with the soldiers for the rest of their lives.
"Not only was this little girl unfortunately killed but a young Marine now has that on his conscience for the rest of his life."
In the film Scotti describes this moment as "different" compared to the death that surrounds them.
"There was a certain kind of sense afterward that now you've seen one of the true faces of war. It's a harsh reality," Scotti said.
Fraga defended his decision to leave the scene in the film. "They don't have a film editor there saying we're going to cut this out so you don't ever have to worry about it," said Fraga.
"To not put that in would go against the spirit of what's happening over there and we should be shaken by what we see when we see this film."
"When you leave the theater some of the images will stay with you, but it doesn't even scratch the surface of what these guys actually experienced," Fraga added. "We don't pretend that we made the definitive movie about Iraq. In fact, we probably won't answer any questions. I think we will raise a boatload. We all know (the war) from the prism of what we saw in our own homes on television. We're kind of stripping away that layer. The footage was never intended to be a motion picture."
Scotti believes the film can help break down barriers that often arise between veterans and their families after returning home.
"It can help create a shared experience between the family members of those who've served because a lot of the time when guys get back there's a feeling of isolation, especially when you're discharged from active duty."
The film also touches on the difficult adjustment soldiers must make when returning home from battle.
"The wounds are especially deep when you first get back and you step off the battlefield," said Scotti. "You could be sitting at a bar and at that moment there's a Marine unit pinned down fighting for their lives in Afghanistan. It's a function, in part, of an all-volunteer military. World War II was the centerpiece of everybody's lives. Everybody made personal sacrifices. It was part of the public consciousness. This war is just kind of in the background. As a veteran you've got to get used to it."
After being honorably discharged from the Marines, Scotti created a charity known as Reserve Aid that has raised over $3 million to help the families of wounded veterans.
For more information or to donate to Reserve Aid visit www.reserveaid.org.
For more information and on Severe Clear and where it is playing visit www.severe-clearthemovie.com
