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Weltverbesserer auf dem Schlachtfeld
Civilians On The Battlefield
A documentation by Teresina Moscatiello
Germany 2006, 86 min |
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Plot:
"C.O.B" tells the story of four Germans – two men and two women – who are all around 30 and work as "war extras" for the U.S. Army at a combat training center in the Bavarian forest. For a few weeks, they play-act at being Arabian terrorists and simulate worst-case scenarios, on German territory. What reasons and motivations did the four protagonists have for their decision to work for the U.S. Army? How did it change their lives? Can you be for peace and yet work for war? These discrepancies between thoughts and actions form an essential part of the film. |
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Protagonists:
Bernhard, 31 is a practicing Christian. As a conscientious objector to regular national service, he did alternate national service, providing care to the severely handicapped. Together with his dog, Balduin, he lives a reclusive life on a farm, and has worked as „war extra“ for the U.S. army eight times. He is one of those participants who take their role very seriously and who therefore are booked regularly.
Florian, 27, participates in the 1st of May riots in Berlin every year. He makes music, and wants to buy a new guitar. To earn money towards this purchase, he works as "war extra" for the U.S. Army. There he frequently plays the part of an Iraqi policeman.
Anja, 28, is pregnant with her second child. Before she met her husband at one of the war simulations, she publicly protested against the politics of the U.S.A. and had nothing but disdain for everything American. Her husband, John, is a U.S. Soldier from a very Republican family. He is a member of the infantry, and is training for his next mission to the Middle East. His brother is in Iraq already. Since they got married, a lot has changed in Anja's life. She is increasingly accepting the American lifestyle. |
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Lena, 29, is an Orthodox Jew who puts a high premium on a comfortable style of living. She wants to emigrate to Israel. Out of conviction, she voluntarily completed basic training in the Israeli army. In Germany, she has repeatedly worked as an extra for the U.S. army. There she met her husband, Arturo. He is 28, of Latin American descent, and has been a soldier for the past 7 years. Currently he is training at the Hohenfels Combat Maneuver Training Center and is waiting to be deployed to Iraq. Lena is pushing her husband, currently a Sergeant, to rise higher in the ranks of the army. |
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Director's note
The war in Iraq was well under way when, for four weeks in October 2003, I participated in a military „peace exercise“ of the U.S. army in the Bavarian forest. I was one of many extras who were paid to dress up in Arabian costumes to provide target practice for the soldiers preparing for deployment to the Middle East. During this time, I interviewed my fellow extras and the soldiers. I closely got to know a variety of people and their individual fates: young American GIs, Bavarian housewives, left-wing students, yuppies and persons who have been unemployed for a long time. I asked myself: Why would somebody voluntarily participate in such a war exercise? Isolate themselves from the rest of the world for four weeks? Get up at 4:30 a.m. each morning? Eat high-tech food that has best-before dates of 40 years into the future and constantly causes constipation? What are the real motivations and expectations of these people? Is it just the money, or is it some inherent fascination for war games?
This intensive period and its effects have driven me to make this documentary. I concentrate on the approx. 30 year olds in the Federal Republic of Germany. I met my four protagonists during the combat training maneuver, and accompanied them thereafter. In the process, I asked myself several questions. Is there still any selfreflection on one’s own deeds in this country that I am living in? And to what extend does each of us take on political responsibility? |
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