United States Army
In the time since U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was released from the Taliban, his return to American society has been fraught with controversy. The details are still a little bit hazy on how it happened, but five years ago he was taken as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. He was freed on May 31st of this year, when the U.S. government negotiated his release by exchanging five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay for the 28-year-old’s safe return. The deal has raised eyebrows and probably got you a few “FW:FW:FW:FW: AMERICA THE FREE?!?” emails from your aunt.
If Kathryn Bigelow has any say in the matter, you’ll soon get to see the whole saga play out on screen. According to Variety, she and her Zero Dark Thirty writing and producing partner, Mark Boal, plan to bring the tale to life. It might be a little soon to be thinking about a movie – Bergdahl hasn’t even been back on American soil for a month, having only just returned to a U.S. medical facility in San Antonio for evaluation on June 13th – but there’s really no time like the present to snatch up the rights to an interesting and provocative story while the getting’s good, before someone else beats you to the chase. Especially when the real-life story is maybe as controversial and puzzling as Bergdahl’s.
Bigelow is a master of films involving the intricacies of war and homeland security, as she’s proven with Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker. Bergdahl’s release is particularly mysterious because the Obama administration didn’t inform Congress that they were going through with the deal that would lead to his release; there’s typically a 30-day requirement for transfers from Guantanamo Bay. But according to officials, Bergdahl’s health was dwindling so rapidly that it was imperative that he be rescued right away. The Army is currently investigating his original disappearance and capture in 2009.
Since there are so few details available about Bergdahl’s story at this point, it’s still speculative at this point what will fill in the holes of the story that haven’t been released thus far. Maybe Bergdahl will be talking to Bigelow and Boal, or his eventual tell-all interview with Anderson Cooper (just guessing) will provide all the information needed. Either way, it’s sure to be exciting. Bergdahl was recovered via helicopter in Eastern Afghanistan. That’s a movie in and of itself.
