Hyena Road

[Cloud Cover]

I watched it on the weekend. As far as war movies go, I thought it was good. I don't really care too much about what the technical and tactical deficiencies were, I think if a person pays attention to the story (and they really are high level stories) then the movie fits.
Two things did make me laugh though (1) when Gross was at a FOB and casually walked in front of a 155 lighting off, and all he does is plug his ears! (2) the technical advisor in the film credits was none other than Carl Gustav.

- it's true about the dates, no matter where in the world you eat them;
- there are some scenes where the direction and angle of the filming camera is clearly spray painted on the ground or road banks, most visible in the opening scenes where the kid gets smoked by the sniper.

It would have been nice to see more of the LAV and the Leo's in the movie, just saying better bang for the buck

I know there is a lot of bashing here about this movie, and I've got no right to say dick about that since I wasn't there, but I'm guessing it's probably the only non-documentary/cinema movie concerning Afghanistan that will ever be made that focuses (fictionally or not) on Canadian army characters. (Forget the made for TV series about the hospital). I'm giving Gross the respect for putting this together, he stood up when others look down or around. He's obviously got nothing but the highest regard for  the CAF, and some sort of fetish for acting in well tailored Canadian uniforms.

 

[Old Sweat]

Re your comment about Canadian content, how many of us who saw The Longest Day or read the book for that matter could find any mention of Canadians? I have not seen Hyena Road yet, and will after I get home. It is a fact of life. How many Canadian "bums in seats" can we muster compared to American and Brits?

And for the record, I knew his father well enough to use his nickname "Sir" when he was a squadron commander in the Strahconas in the mid-sixties.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Old Sweat, I get your point, but i do recall some ever so slight mention of Canadians in the movie "Longest Day" but no scenes. The book had more content and a respectable tribute to Canadian casualties and accomplishments on DDay.
I'll go back to what I wrote earlier and clarify- this is the only large scale cinema movie that will probably ever be made about the CAF in Afghanistan. Fiction or not, technically accurate and realistic or not, it is good entertainment and (I think) casts the war as fought by Canada in a proper and respectful way- i.e. valiant, and politically pointless, which was essentially the running theme of the film project.  Of course it could have been more accurate and realistic, but this movie was not made to be a training video or a history lesson, it is just entertainment.  For that purpose, it makes no difference whether Gross has a beard, or whether his trigger finger is in the right place, or if rucksacks and clothing are too clean to be real.
My guess is that it will be another generation and several more wars before another Canadian centric war flick is attempted at this scale.

 

[Towards_the_gap]

Old Sweat, I get your point, but i do recall some ever so slight mention of Canadians in the movie "Longest Day" but no scenes. The book had more content and a respectable tribute to Canadian casualties and accomplishments on DDay.
I'll go back to what I wrote earlier and clarify- this is the only large scale cinema movie that will probably ever be made about the CAF in Afghanistan. Fiction or not, technically accurate and realistic or not, it is good entertainment and (I think) casts the war as fought by Canada in a proper and respectful way- i.e. valiant, and politically pointless, which was essentially the running theme of the film project.  Of course it could have been more accurate and realistic, but this movie was not made to be a training video or a history lesson, it is just entertainment.  For that purpose, it makes no difference whether Gross has a beard, or whether his trigger finger is in the right place, or if rucksacks and clothing are too clean to be real.
My guess is that it will be another generation and several more wars before another Canadian centric war flick is attempted at this scale.

*spoiler alert*

I get your point but at the same time, I think he could have made a still-entertaining-yet-historically&factually-accurate movie. I mean, the one scene at the beginning where the sniper det shoots the IED (when did 66 C/S start using ANA CIED TTP's????) and all of a sudden 40 odd muj come streaming out of nowhere, I mean, come in, this is set in 2010, if the TB managed to muster that many dudes in one location they would have been type-2'd long before that whole scene could have taken place, I could go on but don't want to spoil the movie. Nevermind the supposed location was actually a real village which looked nothing like the mountainous area that was portrayed. I mean, you could probably count on 2 hands the number of 'mountains' in panjwai, the majority of it was flat grapefields/wadi's/regh desert.

How 'Carl Gustav' made it in the credits as Technical advisor is either a clever inside joke, which I wouldn't think Mr Gross would be in on, or whoever was the technical advisor for real saw the finished product, and said 'put down a nom-de-guerre for me, for OPSEC reasons' when the real reason was he wanted nothing to do with that claptrap.

 

[jollyjacktar]

When I look at what he's done and I compare it to what the Australian's do with their movies, there's no comparison.  For example, a recent Australian war movie is "Beneath Hill 60".  They took a real story, threw in the romance bit that happened (without drowning it in syrup) and told a compelling tale that was worthy of the men who lived it.

I just wish we could do a similar job ourselves.  As I said originally, it's not a total train wreck but it still leaves me with things to pick at as TtG has pointed out.  Civilians won't know the difference and I suppose that is the target audience.  It's just a shame, that's all.

 

[Strike]

How 'Carl Gustav' made it in the credits as Technical advisor is either a clever inside joke, which I wouldn't think Mr Gross would be in on, or whoever was the technical advisor for real saw the finished product, and said 'put down a nom-de-guerre for me, for OPSEC reasons' when the real reason was he wanted nothing to do with that claptrap.

Or, it's more likely that it was easier than naming the several dozen people that were involved at all levels, especially as none of them were members of CATSA (and they have some pretty weird rules when it comes to official credits beyond the 'Special Thanks to' section).  Keep in mind that actual CAF members and units played a pretty big part in the production.

 

[George Wallace]

How 'Carl Gustav' made it in the credits as Technical advisor is either a clever inside joke, which I wouldn't think Mr Gross would be in on, or whoever was the technical advisor for real saw the finished product, and said 'put down a nom-de-guerre for me, for OPSEC reasons' when the real reason was he wanted nothing to do with that claptrap.

Or, it's more likely that it was easier than naming the several dozen people that were involved at all levels, especially as none of them were members of CATSA (and they have some pretty weird rules when it comes to official credits beyond the 'Special Thanks to' section).  Keep in mind that actual CAF members and units played a pretty big part in the production.

Or, it is a way to avoid Taxes.  It is not uncommon in the European film industry for some members of the crew to use pseudonyms instead of their real names, for tax purposes.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Jerry Can would have been better than Carl Gustav, IMO. That's the nom de plume I use when signing into someplace I shouldn't be. 

 

[Cloud Cover]

>When I look at what he's done and I compare it to what the Australian's do with their movies, there's no comparison.

- When it comes to things involving the military and/or documentation or retelling Australian military history, they always do a better job. They certainly ensured the execution more of their POW captors than we ever did, and they make damned certain it won't happen again.

"The Odd Angry Shot", a Vietnam war flick, is a good Australian movie as well. Poor, tough Diggers, a nasty little bunch when they have to be.

Cheers.

 

 

[The Bread Guy]

Jerry Can would have been better than Carl Gustav, IMO. That's the nom de plume I use when signing into someplace I shouldn't be. 

Stopped signing in as Herman Nelson, then? 

 

[daftandbarmy]

When I look at what he's done and I compare it to what the Australian's do with their movies, there's no comparison.  For example, a recent Australian war movie is "Beneath Hill 60".  They took a real story, threw in the romance bit that happened (without drowning it in syrup) and told a compelling tale that was worthy of the men who lived it.

I just wish we could do a similar job ourselves.  As I said originally, it's not a total train wreck but it still leaves me with things to pick at as TtG has pointed out.  Civilians won't know the difference and I suppose that is the target audience.  It's just a shame, that's all.

So, kind of like 'Passchendaele' then, but better?

 

[jollyjacktar]

So, kind of like 'Passchendaele' then, but better?

An example of what Passchendaele could have been like. Better?  Oh God, yes.  And there even was a Canadian connection in the story.

 

[BeyondTheNow]

I had said earlier that good or bad, I was happy that some sort of attention was being brought to Canadians since we're so inundated with American roles and portrayals during wartime, fictional or otherwise.

I came across this review today. The critic didn't like the movie (which is absolutely fine), but I liked how the views were expressed without being cutting/insulting to Gross's endeavours.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-capsule-hyena-road-review-20160311-story.html

 

[Leeworthy]

I watched it on the weekend. As far as war movies go, I thought it was good. I don't really care too much about what the technical and tactical deficiencies were, I think if a person pays attention to the story (and they really are high level stories) then the movie fits.
Two things did make me laugh though (1) when Gross was at a FOB and casually walked in front of a 155 lighting off, and all he does is plug his ears! (2) the technical advisor in the film credits was none other than Carl Gustav.
- it's true about the dates, no matter where in the world you eat them;
- there are some scenes where the direction and angle of the filming camera is clearly spray painted on the ground or road banks, most visible in the opening scenes where the kid gets smoked by the sniper.

It would have been nice to see more of the LAV and the Leo's in the movie, just saying better bang for the buck

I know there is a lot of bashing here about this movie, and I've got no right to say dick about that since I wasn't there, but I'm guessing it's probably the only non-documentary/cinema movie concerning Afghanistan that will ever be made that focuses (fictionally or not) on Canadian army characters. (Forget the made for TV series about the hospital). I'm giving Gross the respect for putting this together, he stood up when others look down or around. He's obviously got nothing but the highest regard for  the CAF, and some sort of fetish for acting in well tailored Canadian uniforms.

Its funny you mention that. I watched the movie, and the first thing I said to my wife was, who the hell does that?

 

[northernguy]

Sorry to dredge this thread up, but I wanted to ask you guys..

2 things that bugged me with the film (besides the creepy M777 euphemism).

1.  If you're making a movie showcasing the Cdn Forces, why have one of your main characters using a Brooklyn accent??

2.  Do Canadian military really go around saying 'Outstanding!' like US marines??

I'm sure there was a lot wrong with the movie, but even as a civilian I was annoyed by this..

 

[George Wallace]

Well.  Yes they do use the word "outstanding", but it is usually following an expletive.  [

 

[Loachman]

2.  Do Canadian military really go around saying 'Outstanding!' like US marines??

No.

I almost did while responding in another thread seconds ago, though, just because you asked that.

A Canadian Int Officer, at least an Army one, would not describe himself as "Intel" either.

 

[northernguy]

A Canadian Int Officer, at least an Army one, would not describe himself as "Intel" either.

What would they, then?

 

[George Wallace]

A Canadian Int Officer, at least an Army one, would not describe himself as "Intel" either.

 

[OldSolduer]

Well.  Yes they do use the word "outstanding", but it is usually following an expletive.  [

Like as in "outf8ckingstanding" - at least that's what I use.