USA: Jake Gyllenaal and Jamie Foxx capture life of a Marine in the new war film "Jarhead."

Record ID: 801877

  • Title: USA: Jake Gyllenaal and Jamie Foxx capture life of a Marine in the new war film "Jarhead."
  • Date: 5th November 2005
  • Summary: LOS ANGLES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) JAKE GYLLENHAAL ON THE EXPERIENCE OF LIVING THE MARINE LIFE, SAYING: "I think it is incredibly entertaining. While at the same time it does leave room and space for your own thoughts. So, I haven't really seen a movie that is so entertaining to watch people wait."
  • Embargoed: 20th November 2005 12:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA6MB2Y8I0L3O1CD7UJZ528OW3H
  • Story Text: Director Sam Mendes and actor Jake Gyllenhaal graced the red carpet Thursday night (October 27, 2005) in Los Angeles, for the world premiere of their latest film "Jarhead." Based on the lead of writer Anthony Swofford's 2003 Gulf War battlefield memoir, the film stars Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx, who lead a cast that deals with the sheer boredom of waiting for a war to happen, of the drinking, joking, lusting, swearing and quarrelling of a bunch of adrenline-charged 20-year-olds. Mendes said the film's topic required him to "freelance" more than in previous projects. "One of things that I was most concerned about was throwing away everything I've done in previous movies and being a littl e bit freer," explained Mendes, "using a hand held camera most of the time and improvising a lot and using two cameras and just throwing everything up in the air," he said. "Making it more fun to shoot for me, which is really selfish. It was and it's surprising to say that a war film should be exciting to shoot, even though war is bad, some people get excited by it."
    In "Jarhead," Gyllenhaal portrays Swofford, a third-generation enlistee who joins the Marines just in time to go to Saudi Arabia for the war. During the harrowing rigors and hazing of basic training, Staff Sgt. Sykes (Foxx), a lifer who loves his job, selects Swoff for his elite unit of scout/snipers. Sykes pairs Swoff with Troy (Sarsgaard), giving him a partner whose calm exterior belies the turmoil inside. Most of the movie takes place in the vast nothingness of the desert, where everyone digs in and waits . .. and waits and waits. With no enemy to fight, conflicts turn inward. The Marines have a solution for everything, Swoff remarks, but none for losing your mind. Squabbles break out. Scorpion fights are staged. Guys rag on each other about what wives or girlfriends are doing back home. The banter and jokes revolve almost entirely around sex and violence. Whenever Sykes has had enough of his unit, he designs malicious punishments for his charges, like forcing them to play football in 112-degree heat decked out in chemical suits and masks. Then, when the war does come, things get really crazy.
    Gyllenhaal credits Mendes with allowing him to really feel what it was like to be a Marine. "What he did with this movie in particular was let us go free," said Gyllenhaal. "He wanted to watch someone do and live their life and experience an experience. That's what this movie really is, it feels like the experience of a Marine." The actor also believes the film allows the audience to make up its own mind on the issue of war itself. "I think it is incredibly entertaining, while at the same time it does leave room and space for your own thoughts. So I haven't really seen a movie that is so entertaining to watch people wait," said Gyllenhaal. "
    Jarhead" opens nationwide November 4.
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