WARFARE
If you saw Alex Garland’s masterful film, Civil War, then I highly recommend watching his follow up film, Warfare, which acts as an interesting companion piece to it. While Civil War was fictional in its look at the United States cracking apart, Warfare is based on a true story that takes place on November 19, 2006 in Iraq. Garland co-wrote and co-directed the film with Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza who had also worked as an advisor on Civil War. Mendoza really wanted to tell this story of his time in Iraq, and Garland wanted to help Mendoza get that story to the big screen.
While some war stories are based on true events, they tend to be padded for dramatic purposes. Warfare states “This film uses only their memories.” This is a concise story, told in real time in roughly 90 minutes. It starts off with a simmering intensity as the troops wait around and watch for their target, and then without warning the action picks up to a gripping and deadly aftermath.
Warfare isn’t for the faint of heart as both Garland and Mendoza want to showcase the brutality and dangers of what our troops witness and experience while serving. They have an exceptional young cast on their hands with Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter, Kit Connor, Michael Gandolfini, Taylor John Smith, Charles Melton and more making up this troop. This isn’t necessarily one man’s perspective, but rather, an ensemble piece demonstrating their brotherhood and teamwork. Their chemistry is felt on screen even if they aren’t given the usual exposition or time to build their character’s and their relationships with one another. The sound design is particularly striking if you have a home surround sound system.
SPECIAL FEATURES
-Filmmaker commentary with Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland, and Military Consultant Brian Philpot
-“Courage Under fire: The Making of Warfare“
-Set of six collectible poscasrds with behind-the-scenes photography by Murray Close
Here’s a video I made for TikTok
