Casualty of war

>> Inventive documentary The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez puts a human face
on war, immigration and poverty

by MALCOLM FRASER

José Antonio Gutierrez was a blip on the media radar, the first U.S. soldier to be killed in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. German director Heidi Specogna has assembled a moving and inventive portrait in her documentary The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez. When the film begins with a montage of American TV news clips, paying tribute to Gutierrez in brain-numbing propagandistic style, a viewer could be forgiven for thinking this will be another anti-Bush screed preaching to the growing leagues of the converted. In fact, the Iraq war is only the last chapter in a fascinating story that covers a surprising amount of thematic ground for one individual.

Gutierrez was an indigenous Guatemalan, abandoned by his family, who grew up on the streets of Guatemala City. After being taken in by a shelter and eventually completing high school, he decided to emigrate to the U.S., hopping trains across Mexico and undertaking several attempts to cross the border. Not long after he got in, the U.S. army started offering green cards to residents who signed up for service, resulting in a spike of Latino recruits. With an eye to the free education he could use to pursue his dream of being an architect, Gutierrez enlisted in the Marines just in time for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

To illustrate Gutierrez’s life experiences, from growing up on the streets to the treacherous journey across the border, Specogna follows other people going through these experiences themselves. A refreshing change from the usual documentary techniques—a parade of talking heads, or cheesy reenactments—this brilliantly simple approach is indicative of both her creativity and the universal nature of Gutierrez’s story. The film becomes about more than just one individual, encompassing the hard choices that impoverished Latin Americans have to face.

That said, Gutierrez comes across as a fascinating character who touched the lives of people he knew. A multifaceted charmer with an apparent ability to be all things to all people—he seems to be known by different names or nicknames to nearly all the people interviewed from various stages of his life—his story is a classic tragedy that gives the hot-button issues of war, immigration and poverty a human face.

The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez
plays at the Goethe-Institut through Sept. 12

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