This powerful documentary highlights the importance of photojournalism in capturing history – but equally the toll it takes on life.
Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Love + War focuses on the work of photojournalist Lynsey Addario to not only highlight the importance of the dangerous work that she does to capture the horrific stories and consequences of conflict – but also the personal cost in documenting history in this way.
From the very beginning of this sharply focused documentary, the audience sees up close how Addario is so deeply invested in the work that she does – no matter how close to the danger of war she gets. Opening with a particularly moving sequence which focuses on the war in Ukraine, Love + War also reflects on the other conflicts and other humanitarian crises that she has covered throughout her career, bringing to life the stories behind the images that she has captured. As a viewer you realise just how many stories that the wider public are unaware of that the news doesn’t or is unable to cover.It packs a punch from start to finish.
But what the well constructed documentary also does so well here is highlight just how the industry of photojournalism is still considered to be a male industry (there is a lovely sequence in which tributes are paid to the likes of Yunghi Kim, Dickey Chapelle and Lee Miller for example), yet Addario constantly challenges this view – even when being asked about why she chooses to continue to go to photograph these conflicts even though she is a mother – she quite rightly responds ‘would you ask a man that?’. The way in which she discusses her work and wanting to highlight women’s stories from around the world is filled with passion and insight, offering a sense of just how emotionally connected she is to her work.
Yet while you can see her passion for her job and the emotional toll that it takes, the viewer can see the impact it has on her family as well. The documentary intersperses the images of conflict with that of her family life and you can see how less comfortable she is at home than being out documenting life and horror. That is not to say that she doesn’t love her family – but she is very frank and honest about the fact that her mind is constantly on where she should be than where she is, the guilt on not being sharing more stories of the people around the world stuck in a situation not of their making.
It is a very grounded documentary and the way in which Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi have framed it ensures that the viewer never judges Addario for her choices – her job is not one that works for a typical way of living. The way it has been edited is clever and smooth, to ensure that the storytelling is effective and the audience is given a detailed understanding of the stories behind some of the many images that Addario has taken.
Love + War is a very reflective and powerful insight into the contrasting way in which Addario lives her life. She has a sharp eye for capturing a powerful and unique images and you can see how intensely she feels about highlighting the consequences of conflict and humanitarian crises for the world to see, she has an admirable grit and determination no matter what the circumstance that she find herself in. She has some extraordinary and scary stories to share (which her husband Paul attempts to think not a lot about) such as her kidnapping in Libya which sounds particularly traumatic. But she never thinks about herself and what would happen if the worst should happen – in fact as she honestly states that is why she has set up her family life that her husband Paul has much of the say in the way their kids are looked after. It is devastating to hear her say it – but from a practical point of view, the audience can sympathise. She isn’t just a mother and wife – she feels a strong sense of duty to the work that she does, with her passion and ability to tell a story so concisely through a single image.
Overall, this is an excellent documentary. It is thoroughly engaging from start to finish and leaves the audience with plenty to think about. A picture is worth a thousand words as the expression goes, and as Love + War shows, Lynsey Addario has created thousands to try and effect change to powerful impact.
By Emma Clarendon
Love + War is set to be released on the 24th October.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️