Kajaki (2015)

Let's be realistic.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

KAJAKI: A TRUE STORY is a simple, small scale tale about a group of British soldiers fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Unfortunately their squad wanders into a mine field, men are trapped and wounded, and the survivors have to figure out how to get everyone out of the situation. This was a true story and it's a film made with a decent premise, but if I'm truthful I was expecting more. The first third of the film feels like padding, attempting to introduce the characters but failing to make them interesting or likeable. Mark Stanley, best known as Grenn in GAME OF THRONES, bags the lead role and is miles away from his best-known character. Once the action shifts to the mine field the tension increases, but it does flag a little before the credits roll. My main gripe with this is that the script is pretty bone-headed, constant swearing and repetition; I would have preferred no dialogue at all to this.

The year is 2006, and the setting is the Kajaki Dam in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. A small British contingent is protecting the dam against the Taliban. The film depicts the harrowing tale of the small band of brothers of "Kilo 2" who walk into a minefield in the wadi.The level of realism in this film is startling. The dialogue sounds almost like a candid recording of the private conversation of a group of soldiers. The filming of the mine explosions and mutilations is a harrowing experience. One can only marvel at the skills of the medics working under pressure, as well as the courage of the rescue team. Everything about the film was credible.Beyond the heroic tale of survival of the men of Kilo 2, the film offers insights in the nature of the war in Afghanistan that has continued unabated since 2001. But the minefields depicted in the film were originally set by the Soviets during their failed invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Those mines remained active until the tragedy in the wadi in 2006.A film that is difficult to watch, "Kilo Two Bravo" is a moving record of an incident that needs to be told. We are reminded that the subtitle of the film is "The True Story."

This came with a fair bit of acclaim in the build up to its release . Upon its release it did very little. This shouldn't be seen as to a comment on its quality , more down to the fact that a lot of British films fail to attract a major distribution deal. There's possibly something else and that is by 2014 Afghanistan had become a forgotten . NATO had done its best to make a fractured failed state in to a secular democracy. It was a failure but a noble one. It was also a conflict that was often waged by the Taliban via roadside bombs and other booby traps. In other words it's not a conflict that'll lend itself to pitched "war porn" type battles by Hollywood studios. If nothing else any film featuring Afghanistan can't be any worse than the previous British effort THE PATROL from the year before Thankfully KAJAKI does nail the mentality of the modern volunteer soldier. Conscription ended in Britain in 1960 and no one was happier than the British military themselves . If you have a military composed of people who want to be there you've got a better military machine and it's good to see the rest of NATO adopt a voluntary military. From the outset KAJAKI nails this point very accurately with Tug saying he left the army after being disappointed by the lack of action he saw in Iraq and re-enlisted when Britain extended its mission in Afghanistan. Civilians in general and the anti-war brigade in particular constantly forget that young men join the army to see some heavy duty adventure. Indeed one of the legacies of the Afghan conflict was the phenomena of "The grief whore" who'd line the streets of Wootan Bssset every time they'd hear bodies of military personal were repatriated As it stands KAJAKI is a story of British courage. In some ways it's a stark , poignant metaphor for the NATO mission to Afghanistan . It shows the unbreakable bond between soldiers and a heroic courage most humans are unaware of. The downside is that "war is 99% boredom and 1% terror". There's a danger that if you're making a film based on fact then if you're embellishing a story then the truth becomes more and more diluted due to embellishment. I don't feel KAJAKI suffers from embellishment but at the same time there does seem to be something missing. I guess that's because I'm a civilian and death on the battlefield is something unknown to me ? At the end of the day the veterans are more qualified than me to comment on the conflict in Afghanistan and I'll look forward to reading their comments

I think it's a good movie showing what's behind the scenes , Stories we aren't suppose to know about especially military stuff which is so classified , This movie is showing us how soldiers are risking their lives to get the job done , Beside it's based on a true story so that's a plus for me since I love movies based on true stories, but what I didn't like is that most of the movie they are focusing on one thing in the same area I don't want to spoil it but what I can say is there is a lot of disturbing scenes even if that what really happens but when converting any story into a movie it suppose to have that cinematic plot a way to keep audience thrilled not just copy past it like re-acting what's happening in the exact way ! This is the reason my rating is 6/10 otherwise it could be better and would deserve 7/10 :)