Ironically, "Avatar" is the work of the man who turns violence into fantasy, the stuff of fairy tales told with a soft and even feminine sensibility. "Hurt Locker" celebrates the macho, directed by a woman obsessed with human violence. She creates a combatant character in a contemporary Trojan War, a warrior with pluck and tenacity who reminds us of Hector's words in the Iliad: "I know how to stand and fight to the finish. Twist and lunge in the War-god's deadly dance."
Kathryn Bigelow gives imaginative force and power to the narrative, as conceived by screenwriter Mark Boal, who was imbedded with the grunts in Iraq. Her creativity recalls that of Stephen Crane, who never heard a Union or Confederate gun fired in combat but whose novel "The Red Badge of Courage" was one of the classics begat by the Civil War. Like Crane's, her creativity does not depend on personal experience.
Certain critics of "Hurt Locker" argue that it's politically neutral, and many viewers even regard it as opposing the war in Iraq. But it makes you proud of the American soldier in the way that John Wayne portrayed soldiers who made Americans proud in World War II.
Staff Sgt. William James, portrayed by Jeremy Renner, does not have the walk and swagger of the Duke (who does?), but he suggests the Duke's pride, conviction and even his recklessness in setting out to do a dangerous job with redneck nobility. When we watch him striding alone down a scary street to defuse a homemade bomb, he's as death-defying as Duke in a Green Beret.
Our military men have not received the honor and respect they deserve. Their heroic sacrifices haven't won the public attention and appreciation owed to them. Political criticism of our current wars has taken its toll, rendering unobservant Americans immune to the danger that is their daily portion. Young people often wear the camouflage as parody rather than pride and lack the understanding of reality that goes with the recognition that "there, but for the grace of God, go I."
Some veterans complain that "Hurt Locker" is not authentic and doesn't tell it like it really is. Expecting a mere movie to do that is expecting too much. But portraying the literal is not the moviemaker's challenge. "Hurt Locker" triumphs with an emotional truth about the character of war and the men who reluctantly go there to win it.
The envelope, please.