8. Jarhead
Based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford’s memoir, Jarhead offers a surprising and eye opening look at what it was like for those who served during the first Gulf War.
Directed by Sam Mendes, the movie was packed full of incredible performances courtesy of actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Fox and Peter Sarsgaard, and provided us with a remarkable insight of what it was like for men who had been trained to kill finding themselves only killing time.
Mendes was smart not to delve too much into the politics of this particular conflict, instead prioritising an exploration of how those who were deployed were directly effected. It’s a powerful film which like most of those listed here stands out for exploring a very different side of war.
