Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A GOOD DAY TO DIE, HOKA HEY
Peril, passion and the pursuit of the perfect picture make for an explosive composition in this documentary about a renowned British war photographer.
At the start, we’re dropped by helicopter into a firefight in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, before shooting off to Colombia, Lebanon and Iraq.
Looking and sounding like Benedict Cumberbatch’s thrill-seeking older brother, Jason P Howe is alarmingly honest about his addiction to the adrenalin he experiences on the job.
Intelligent, articulate and extremely talented, he’s described as an idiot and a maniac by his fellow snappers.
For 12 years, his life was a barely believable storm of bullets, booze, drugs and romance.
When the film catches its breath, it adjusts its focus to the changing nature of the industry, questions of ethics and issues of censorship.
Many of Howe’s photos are disturbingly graphic, and a life on the front line has resulted in PTSD. But there’s no suggestion he wouldn’t do it all again.