GERMANY: Premiere of film "The Messenger" at the Berlin Film Festival with actor Woody Harrelson

Record ID: 1543276

  • Title: GERMANY: Premiere of film "The Messenger" at the Berlin Film Festival with actor Woody Harrelson
  • Date: 10th February 2009
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 09, 2009) (REUTERS) HARRELSON AT JUNKET (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOODY HARRELSON SAYING: "I remain pro peace, you know, I don't think I could ever get behind an oil war, certainly. But to me, the missing component was my compassion for these guys who are doing the fighting over there. And though I may not agree with the war, I am as pro warriors as you could be right now. I really, I just have amazing respect and compassion for these folks who are doing what they are doing for very little compensation. So that's kind of helped rounding me out as a person, to me it's one of the most important experiences I 've ever had." EXTERIOR OF FILM FEST AREA (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOODY HARRELSON SAYING: "You definitely got to get into this kind of psychological space where I'd never been. And I was a bit concerned. You know, I am a hippie, pretending to be a captain in the army. I didn't know if I could pull it off, so I really just tried to intensely dive in and I had great guidance from Oren Moverman and Ben Foster." EXTERIOR OF FILM FEST AREA (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOODY HARRELSON SAYING: "What we need to do in our society is to get off the dinosaur's tit, get off the petro-chemical bus, you know? We just got to get away from that, it has just wreaked havoc in our society because of the wars that are being fought, because of what's going on ecologically. There is a lot of reasons. I just believe in the concept of getting back to the natural." EXTERIOR OF FILM FEST AREA
  • Embargoed: 25th February 2009 09:32
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA42H7XBU2XX3VL98Y0TFDLAF27
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: American actor Woody Harrelson, long an outspoken peace activist, said on Monday (February 9) making a film about the work of U.S. army casualty notification officers had given him new insight and respect for soldiers in Iraq.
    After director Oren Moverman's "The Messenger" made its international debut at the Berlin Film Festival, Harrelson said he acquired a deep admiration for the soldiers in Iraq as well as those assigned to inform next of kin about killed soldiers.

    "I remain pro peace, you know, I don't think I could ever get behind an oil war, certainly. But to me, the missing component was my compassion for these guys who are doing the fighting over there. And though I may not agree with the war, I am as pro warriors as you could be right now. I really, I just have amazing respect and compassion for these folks who are doing what they are doing for very little compensation. So that's kind of helped rounding me out as a person, to me it's one of the most important experiences I 've ever had," he said.
    Harrelson grippingly portrays one of the officers who face weeping widows, angry parents and shocked children when they personally deliver the heartbreaking news.

    "You definitely got to get into this kind of psychological space where I'd never been. And I was a bit concerned. You know, I am a hippie, pretending to be a captain in the army. I didn't know if I could pull it off, so I really just tried to intensely dive in and I had great guidance from Oren Moverman and Ben Foster," Harrelson said.
    The film features Harrelson and Ben Foster as two soldiers assigned to the harrowing task of informing next of kin.
    Aside from the tears in almost every living room or doorstep, they are screamed at or even spat on by enraged parents. The film by Moverman, who spent four years in the Israeli military, shines the spotlight time on bearers of bad news.

    "It's obviously showing a side of war that we are not in favour of," said Moverman, adding the army provided technical support and backing for the film.
    More than 4,200 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
    The half-dozen scenes of Harrelson and Foster bringing the bad news to next of kin had the difficult-to-please Berlinale audience mesmerised and more than a few in tears. There was heartfelt applause after the screening and at a news conference.

    "It's a representation of the consequences of going to war,"
    said Moverman, who noted critically the United States had at one point banned media cover of flag-draped coffins heading home.

    "It's not about strategies of where the United States should be and it's not about foreign policy," he said when asked if it was an anti-war film. "It's once you go to war, there are consequences. We're hoping it's a humanist message."
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