Guest review by Dan Berman
This Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature takes you on a disturbing trip around the world where violence is often perceived as the only answer. Director, Producer, and Editor Christian Frei takes a look at the life of a war photographer and shines a light on the profession with its constantly looming dangers.

Twenty-year veteran Photographer James Nachtwey has been there at the forefront with his trustworthy companion, his camera. James has not just taken his pictures but has gotten closer to the truth of what war really stands for and what the consequences of war truly are. The cinematography in War Photographer is absolutely fascinating as we are treated to utterly amazing panoramic landscape views. This is a rare, up-close look inside a mind that has spent the last two decades photographing the suffering, the endless poverty, and the cruel and harsh deaths of thousands of people. Get behind the war lines with a man who has experienced dreadful disease, yet still continues his pursuit of that photograph that could change the world. Many consider Nachtwey the bravest and most important war photographer of our time. During his career he hasn't missed a single war. While watching the film I can only wonder how one shy man from New York City can even keep a level head amongst the brutality?

Explore the battlefields in Kosovo, The West Bank, and Indonesia as you travel with Nachtwey through mass graves of people who have been slaughtered by shrapnel and gunfire, or who have been butchered with a machete. War Photographer is a terrifying and unpleasant journey that, at times, becomes unbearable. James Nachtwey regards his work as a means of informing the viewer of what is going on elsewhere in the world. He describes what he has seen as “an express elevator directly to hell." This grizzly look into war also brings to our attention Nachtwey's raw, effortless bravery.

War Photographer is one of the greatest documentary features to come around in a long time. Most of the film is shot from behind Nachtwey's camera with the lens as your guide. Yes, James Nachtwey is truly an American hero, but it certainly doesn't fit the cliché of the always remembered and cherished war veteran.

Through Frei's filmmaking, we learn that since time began there have been four main causes of war. The primary issues are poverty, rights, political systems, and ethnicity. The vast majority of wars break out in the poorest of countries. Food water, clothing, medical supplies, and even finding a place to call home all become unsettling issues that usually provoke anger among thousands of people. Those who are richer and more powerful go to great lengths to grab whatever they want in hopes of protecting and building upon what they already have. This mentality often leads to more powerful countries invading and brutalizing a less secure neighbor.

I hope that James Nachtwey launches the strongest message for world peace anywhere by one day finding that one perfect war photograph that doesn’t limit itself to captivating just one single mind, but consumes thousands.

Find this documentary on DVD and experience the everyday life of a war photographer.

Dan Berman