Soldier Girls

American comedies like PRIVATE BENJAMIN (with Goldie Hawn) and action movies like G.I. JANE (with Demi Moore) demonstrate that the subject 'women in the army' appeals to the imagination. The tone of Broomfield's documentary SOLDIER GIRLS, made in 1981 and co-directed by Joan Churchill, comes closer to the hilarity of the first film than to the acquiescing macho heroism of the more recent G.I. JANE. The critical documentary presents the army as a cross between the Marx Brothers and the Theatre of the Absurd. Through the absurdity of all the drills (for example, during practice the soldiers are egged on by a sergeant with the slogan: 'I want to go to Iran, I want to kill an Iranian'), the power of the system is obvious, as well as the immense pressure put on the women to become one with their uniform in a way that is desired by their superiors. Four soldiers are followed intensively during their first crash course.