Triage (2009)

TRIAGE is a well chosen title for this film about who survives an who dies in war: at times those triage decisions are made by serendipity (read 'bad luck'), at times they are made by physicians or medics tending the wounded on the battlefield, and at times they are submerged in the apparent 'survivors' only to later crush the life from those who make it home. Writer/Director Danis Tanovic has adapted Scott Anderson's novel is a manner that carries the seemingly simple act of 'triage' throughout the film, showing how that action can affect the lives of friends, family, and psychological wholeness of the victim.

Mark Walsh (Colin Farrell, in yet another powerful role) and his buddy David (Jamie Sives) are war photographers for a newspaper edited by Amy (Juliet Stevenson). Their current assignment is Kurdistan and the terrifying realities they not only experience but also commit to film are of such a horrid nature that they both are in shock: they not only witness killings and landmine explosion deaths, but they also watch one Dr. Talani (Branko Djuric) triage the wounded, deciding who can survive care and who is so near death that they are put aside to be later 'executed' by Dr. Talani in a compassionate gesture to end their futile suffering. The tension is so great that David decides to return home, leaving Mark to carry on the assignment. An explosion occurs and Mark is seriously injured but survives and after being tended by Dr. Talani he is encouraged to return home. There is no news as to where David is.

Mark returns home to his adoring Elena (Paz Vega), presents his photographs to Amy, and begins to heal: David's wife Diane (Kelly Reilly) is due to deliver their first child in two weeks and has had no word from David. We watch as Mark, eroded by his experiences in Kurdistan, retreat into a state of decline. Elena grows fearful as Mark, despite hospitalizations and medical care, continues to deteriorate and out of desperation she calls her grandfather Joaquin, a psychiatrist who treated the victims of the Spanish Civil War (Elena is still angry that her own grandfather treated the perpetrators of the destruction that war caused). Joaquin slowly brings Mark into the acceptance of how his mind has triaged the events in Kurdistan and leads Mark to discover the truths about incidents in what war for which he has blamed himself. We finally understand David's disappearance at the moment when his and Diane's child is born.

This is a tough story to watch: subtitles would help the audience understand the many dialects used in the film. But the message is clear and the acting is superb by every member of the cast, even very small but cogent cameos by Reece Ritchie as a boy in Beirut and Dada Ashi as a Ugandan woman two of the early incidents Mark must remember and face in his work with Joaquin. The cinematography is dazzling, especially the use of flashbacks of a raging river so important in Mark's memory recall, and the constant focus on the blue and yellow tags that mark the triage decisions. This is another powerful anti-war film, this time as seen through the eyes of a non-combatant observer. It is important to see. Grady Harp, July 10

"Triage" was a real gem. I enjoyed it much more than "The Hurt Locker", although I was expecting the latter to be great and sadly it wasn't, and I was expecting the former to be mediocre and it was great. Maybe that has clouded my judgement ... but not by much. The story is in two parts. The first is dominated by Colin Farrell and takes place mostly in Kurdistan. Farrell plays a photo journalist (Mark) who goes from war to war filming and documenting the events with his friend (David) who is also a photojournalist. Only Farrell returns home and he is wounded. What has happened to his friend and why does Farrell keep having terrible nightmares? During this part we see why the movie is called "Triage".

The second part mostly in Dublin and is dominated by the legendary veteran actor, Christopher Lee. Lee plays a Spanish psychologist who has a 'shady' past and is (Elena) Farrell's wife's grandfather. They are not on good terms but Elena is desperate to save Farrell who is becoming more and more erratic and losing his mind.

Through Lee's help we see flashbacks as to what happened to David.

I found the story very moving. I am baffled as to why the movie was not given a general release. The acting is superb, especially by the two stars. Strangely, Lee's name is missing from the star credits listed by Amazon????

Highly recommended

C. G Wilson

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this story baised in Kurdistan while Colin and his friend there for doing photographing, i can say its the best of Colin farrel he did excellent job and i was happy about this movie that showed something about my people (kurdish) how they suffered for freedom and fighting Saddam dictator, ofcurse it was nice to see farrel in Kurdish clothing

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I would have given this film 5 stars if there were a bit more buoyancy in the script. Colin Farrell is brilliant as the lead character, Paz Vega is luminous as his wife, and the supporting cast does a great job. But the sparkling chemistry is between Farrell and the oh-so-accomplished Christopher Lee, who appears well into the film but is worth the wait. This is a graphic film and not easy to watch. Even so, although war is hell, it also is not exactly clinical depression. There seems to be a subtle lack of lift in the screenplay and direction. There are too few places where a smile and a sense of beauty break through. Even so, this is a dense drama that is well played, nicely filmed and worth watching more than once.

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This is an excellent film abour war zone photo-journalism, and is Colin Farrell's best role to date. He is maturing as an actor; going deeper and deeper into character. The appearance of legendary actor, Christopher Lee, is also a plus. Highly recommend this for serious film buffs.

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