Warfare
this one fucking gutted me and i am so unbelievably mad that i didn’t see it in theatres.
co-directed by alex garland and ray mendoza (a real navy SEAL who lived this shit) it’s based on a specific 2006 incident in ramadi, Iraq. A SEAL platoon alpha one holes up in a civilian house for overwatch after the battle of ramadi, things go quiet, then it all breaks loose when air support dips and insurgents swarm. it’s told in real time, pulled straight from the memories of the guys who were there. no big speeches or politics layered on top, doesn’t do the “why are we here” debate or grand statements about war, it just shows the reality of it.
the film drops you right into that house with them. d’pharaoh woon-a-tai as mendoza (the real guy’s stand in) will poulter, cosmo jarvis, kit connor, joseph quinn, charles melton (etc) and they’re all solid with no one overacting. it’s ensemble but feels intimate because it’s claustrophobic as hell. The buildup is slow and tense (watching the market, hearing distant activity pick up) then it explodes into non stop intensity. gunfire, explosions, screams making it relentless for 95 minutes with no breaks and no score to tell you how to feel.
the sound design…what the actual fuck. it is unreal 👏 it’s physical. people talk about immersive war films, but this one actually makes you flinch and tense up like you’re there. i’m actually shocked it wasn’t nominated for best sound at the oscars because how does that get overlooked?? it was one of the most intense audio experiences i’ve had in a movie which is why i’m SO mad i didn’t see it in theatres.
what hits hardest is how it isn’t romanticised like you see in some war movies. there’s no “band of brothers” uplift at the end it’s just barely survival alongside guys trying to hold it together while everything goes to shit around them. the casualties feel real and brutal (not graphic for shock value, but because that’s what happens) and it leaves you drained because it forces you to sit with the mess of it all.
one of the most brutal, honest war films in years.