This odd romantic comedy and sometimes tragic film does one of the better jobs I have seen a film do, of taking on the subject of foreigners trying to cope in current war-torn Iraq.  I stumbled on the film by accident after Heide was given some free channels by our dish company after she had a big fight with them concerning their service.  Suddenly I found myself with 50 extra channels in the middle of a cold Wisconsin winter. There was at least three independent film channels in the deal.  

    The Tiger and the Snow is a 2005 Italian project and will have English subtitles.  Roberto Benigni directs and stars in the film.  He plays Attilio de Giovanni a stumbling bumbling university professor of poetry who is still hopelessly in love with his estranged wife Vittoria played by Benigni's real life wife, Nicoletta Braschi.  As the story develops the Iraq War breaks out.  Coincidentally Vittoria is traveling to Baghdad with fellow poet and Iraqi friend Fuad played by Jean Reno. Fuad has been in exile in Rome.  While in Iraq, Vittoria is injured in the course of war and near death and in a wreck of a Baghdad hospital.  

    Remarkably, Attilio finds his way to Baghdad by pretending he is a doctor working for the Italian Red Cross.  The Red Cross convoy is stopped short of Baghdad by too much war.  Attilio drives a bombed-out bus to the gates of Baghdad where Fuad picks him up.  Attilio finds Vittoria who is in a coma.  

    The story follows Attilio trying to find Vittoria some medication that may save her.  In the midst of saving her, Attilio losses his identification and is captured by the Americans as a combatant.  In the mean time the homemade medicine he has concocted has worked but Vittoria never realizes it was Attilio who was the one to save her. There is a hint of realization by Vittoria in the very end of the move.

    The back story of the war is presented well.  It reminded me of my own journeys to Iraq during the war.  Unlike most war movies that focus on uniformed soldiers, this tale reminds us that regular people toil on during these conflicts.  Although tempered with humor, the war and its all too many tragedies are ever present. 

    Be prepared to have to fill in some blanks for yourself.  Unlike American films that lead you down the story path by the nose, this tale  forces the viewer to do some work. If it were a book, we would say the narrator is unreliable, meaning that we are only dished out a bit of information at a time. And the narrator or voice if you prefer knows about as much as the audience.  In other words, the story delivery is not omniscient or all knowing, we are left to do some guessing.  

    I like this film because it reminds me of my time in Iraq. It also weaves a dandy love story.  And it also reminds me of war.  The parties in war can't always speak the same language.  Attilio can't speak Iraqi, nor can he speak English well when confronted by the Americans.  In a coma, Vittoria can't tell anyone what is wrong with her. The Iraqi doctor has no equipment or medications. Sometimes the subtitles are turned off intentionally so we are as lost as Attilio.  He can't find simple medicines to save Vittoria. He losses his money and his identification. His scooter runs out of gas - in Iraq - one of the biggest suppliers of gasoline in world.  The local bazaar is looted and Attilio must substitute a stolen diver's tank for an oxygen bottle for Vittoria.  These are not main themes but we must travel with Attilio through his numerous small dilemmas - and in a war zone to boot.  

    And that is after all, what war and love often consist of - many small, bizarre, and seemingly insurmountable dilemmas.    

                        Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
    (each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)

    Army Sergeant Daniel James Thompson, 24, of Madison, Wisconsin, died on Tuesday, February, 24, 2009, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was killed in combat by an improvised explosive device which detonated near his vehicle. He was a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, when assigned to the 715th Military Police Company out of Melbourne, Florida. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident.
    The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted an Associated Press report that family members noted that Thompson loved cars, and playing hockey. He also had a motorcycle. Thompson joined the Wisconsin National Guard while still at Portage High School. He graduated from Portage in 2003. Daniel went on to earn a degree in criminal justice and law enforcement from Madison Area Technical College in 2006 where he was on the Dean's list three of four semesters. He then worked for a security company in Madison. He had hoped to pursue a career as a police officer. He also entertained the option to explore his love of photography and art after finishing his military service. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel went on to mention Daniel played on a Portage area hockey team while in high school; he also enjoyed swimming and playing football. He was remembered as a good natured guy. At the time of his death Thompson was engaged to be married to a nursing student he met in college. Before leaving for Afghanistan, Daniel gave his Boston Terrier named Diggie to his fiancée. Thompson was due to come home in August of 2009 and finish his military obligation in December of 2009. 
    The Website afghanistan.pigstye.net noted the other three soldiers killed in the incident were from Maryland, Oklahoma, and Illinois. The site went on to explain Thompson belonged to the Wisconsin National Guard until 2007, when he was placed on inactive status until he was called back for duty in Afghanistan with the Florida military unit. Sergeant Thompson was the first person with roots in Portage, Wisconsin, to be killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. 
    The Website wiscnews.com noted that Daniel was born on August 20, 1984. Some of his training at Madison Area Technical College took place at the Portage Campus. He went on to work for Brinks Armored Truck in Madison. Daniel originally was with the 32nd Military Police Company, Wisconsin Army National Guard, based in Madison, until his honorable discharge in 2007. He then was in the Individual Ready Reserves (inactive reserves) at the time of his duty call-up and subsequently assigned to the Florida unit.
    At the time of his death Sergeant Daniel Thompson was survived by his parents Lisa and Bob Thompson; his fiancée Maria Steinke; his aunt Vicky (Keith) Wruck; his uncle Mark (Jean) Erd; his aunt Dee (Paul) Voigt; his uncle Mike (Kara) Thompson; and, grandparents Richard (Cathie) Thompson. He was preceded in death by his grandparents Russell Erd and Marian "Windy" Erd. Sergeant Daniel Thompson was the 12th Wisconsin service person to be killed in Afghanistan since October of 2001. 

         As of this blog entry's posting date:

   0 American and Coalition casualties in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March 2011

    100,456 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
    
    9,903 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.

    4,451 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003. 

    1544 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.

    318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.

    872 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001. 

    32,066 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003. 

    11,032 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001. 

    107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.

    30 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.

    148 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.

    21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.

    4 journalists (regional agencies and independents) have been killed in Libya since March of 2011.

Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org;  Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.

 

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