Hi, today i’m here to write about puzzling business… (that echoes to 1984 novel.)
Have are you already thought about what could happen in the military environment ? I have to say that until now, I never wondered about it. But yesterday, I was quite thoughtful : the film that I have seen was so amazing but so oppressive. Its name is Palace Beach Hotel ; the film is about a group of soldiers who just went back from Afghanistan ; they were on the field when they saw one of their comrade being roughly slayed in front of them, his throat cut in two. These soldiers are sent in a luxurious hotel in Cyprus, the Palace Beach Hotel, to be supported by a psychological assistance ; moreover an intern investigation is launched because the Army does not want this affair to be public. At the beginning, everybody seems very normal like if nothing happened : the 3 main characters are very secretive and assure that they’re ok to the psychologist.

But there’s something strange; beyond this issue ; these 3 persons have to hide a huge secret…Things are going bad when one of them comitted sucide. Here again, the Army wants to keep this issue very secret and we’re appalled to see how hypocritical the Army senior officers can be. Here starts a really hard psychological war for the viewers.

I don’t know how to explain my reaction when I saw that the film was based on real facts ; I mean that there is a huge information issue; seriously, the informations that we can see and heard are really monitored ; before the film I don’t even know that kind of problem could happen in a national organisation ; I always considered soldiers as superhumans who know how to separate job from feelings and fears. I realized that they are human like us and sometimes they can be kind of weak ; but in this system the weakness is not receivable : you have to keep your mouth shut and go on your way. People are not told about everything, even important things, that’s why I’m quite angry. Moreover, it’s a really interesting way to see how that nobody is saved by the war damages ; physically and psychologically speaking.

This film is very stunning in the way that even if it takes place in a luxious hotel, the horror of the facts follows them everywhere, between each walls, in every rooms. Characters are completely psychologically locked, and the only one that achieve to talk to someone comites sucide few hours later because of drug issues. Moreover the reportage that I have seen few hours earlier has confirmed my doubts : since September, 45 police officers killed themselve because of their emotional distress and their psychological troubles due to the things that they see everyday.

Do you REALLY think that it’s normal ?

These people are supposed to protect and help us but they can’t protect themselves because of the hardness of their environment..

Actually, I came to make a parallel between this story and 1984 ; in fact these soldiers suffer of a brainwash ; the colonel, through his investigation make them believe that nothing happened, everything was fine and that they must never talk about it ; It’s a way to control their mind, and the colonel benefits of their psychological weakness to make them silent. Moreover, the fact that he don’t want it to be revealed goes along with the Big Brother manipulation system ; he controls the informations and decides what must be said/written and what should never goes out of the hotel. It’s quite scary because we understand that the limit between fiction and reality is actually really thin.
I’m really speechless and I think that I will continue to make some researches about this issue ; it’s a real problem and people don’t realize what is currently happening beyond the TV News.