For most Americans, the increasingly bloody war in Iraq is but a soundbite on the evening news – an update of the mounting death toll, a mention of the sinister roadside explosive devices or civil unrest accompanied by violent uprisings or the not-so-reassuring affirmations from the American government that peace and democracy are progressing apace, helping make Iraq and the surrounding regions new bastions of freedom. What's rarely touched upon during nightly newscasts and the ceaseless bloviations of cable news are the human stories, the faces in uniform who lay down their lives on a daily basis in an unrelentingly hostile corner of the world.

Enter directors Garrett Scott (who also photographed and produced) and Ian Olds' (editor and photographer) 2005 documentary Occupation: Dreamland, which picks up where the evening news leaves off – centered on the occupation of Falluja, Iraq (a location that likely resonates with anyone who's more than a little familiar with the situation in the Middle East) and the Army's 82nd Airborne division, the film is a ground-level view of the soldier's life, circa January 2004. Charged with "maintaining order and suppressing resistance," the soldiers, most of whom look heartbreakingly young, grind out the days walking dangerous streets and conducting lightning-fast raids of Iraqi homes. A relatively unvarnished, straight-ahead look at the war in Iraq, the most surprising aspect of Occupation: Dreamland is that the filmmakers don't impose themselves or their views upon the narrative – it's true journalistic documentary filmmaking, devoid of any opinions other than the soldiers'. From sobering retention meetings where Army recruiters paint bleak portraits of civilian life and numbing recollections of a comrade killed in action, Occupation: Dreamland illustrates the impact that war has on individuals.

Nerve-jangling and shot through with a pervasive sense of terror, Occupation: Dreamland is a snapshot in time of America's ever-deepening involvement in Iraq – as a caption notes near the film's conclusion, the Iraq insurgency continues, seemingly unabated. The filmmakers keep their personal politics out of this 80-minute documentary, instead letting the soldiers share their polarized opinions – as the film clearly details, these young men are cleaning up chaos with no end in sight. As one soldier says late in the film, "People want their steak, but they don't want to know how the cow gets butchered." Step inside the slaughterhouse.

The Video:

Presented with a 1:85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen transfer, Occupation: Dreamland looks as good as can be expected, given the circumstances of filming. There are quite a few defects in the image, but again, that's due more to the situations than the transfer. Overall, this is a very acceptable rendering of what was most certainly difficult material.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that's included is fantastic – boasting immersive directional effects and supple bass, the scenes involving combat place you right alongside the soldiers as they pile out of the Humvees. A Dolby 2.0 stereo soundtrack is included, as are Spanish subtitles.

It's a case of quality over quantity when it comes to the supplemental features included here: there's a dense, informative commentary track featuring filmmakers Scott (who tragically died of a heart attack at age 37 on March 2, 2006), Olds and sound designer Jim Dawson sound designer, along with soldier Joseph Wood; the film's theatrical trailer; "Soldier Update," eight text screens that detail what happened afterward to a handful of soldiers profiled in the film; three minutes of "Marine Assault Footage" and four deleted scenes round out the disc.

An unsettling, claustrophobic and haunting document of American soldiers' soul-deadening day-to-day existence in Falluja, Iraq, Occupation: Dreamland should be mandatory viewing for anyone who blindly supports the ongoing conflict. Recommended.