LIONESS

Directed By Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers

Review By Shane Morton

I love documentary film. I love what a good doc can illuminate with its truths. I love that they make me think, and I love how they can get to me viscerally.

Lioness is a powerful film about codename Operation Lioness. A military operation, that for the first time in the history of the US Armed Forces, places women alongside men is fire fights & heavy fighting. The many Iraqi women & children were more comfortable with women soldiers. Because of the search procedures & resolutions, women soldiers must pat down Iraqi women. I assume this is a cultural/religious thing as well as UN guidelines. But it now places women soldiers on the front lines.

These women from the Army went on many missions with US Marines & fought side by side with them. The women struggle through this without any “marine” training & against all US Constitutional Law & guidelines about women in the military. The four main subjects that the film follows are amazing women that truly inspires & proves that women can do as much and as well as the men in the armed forces.

The film also points out the difference in the way these women did not get the same kind of training as the men. The fact that they saw real combat does not advance them as it would for men & the differences did not end there. It also powerfully showed the stress that our soldiers come back with, and the struggles they must face daily as a civilian.

Directors Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers truly cast a light on the bravery & skill of the women they follow. It is an important film that all should see, as it is happening to the mothers, sisters, wives & friends of the American people. Our government, if they are going to continue this practice needs to recognize & give those amazing women their due.

The Q&A after the film was really powerful. The discussion, because that is what it truly was, had people on all sides. There was a lot of emotion. There were quite a few women who are currently serving, or had recently served their country in the US Armed Forces, and even they varied on the subject of women being on the front lines.

This is a documentary that should inspire this conversation with our citizens, because it makes you feel like something has to change.