Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. A statistic provided by UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance state that nearly 100,000 mines are still awaiting removal. Although different combatants in Afghanistan have employed the use of land mines, a majority of landmines were planted by Soviet occupying forces between 1979 and 1989. Civilians –most importantly children -- are the chief victim of these landmines. The full extent of Afghan landmine problem still shrouded in mystery as most of the civilian deaths & deformities goes unreported.
Movies have often used landmines as a narrative device that
step-ups the tension quotient. Bahman Ghobadi’s “Turtles Can Fly” (2005) is one
of the authentic, moving portrayals of how a mined war-zone would be. But, most
of mainstream war films shun the authenticity about landmines to give us a
sustained drama. British film-maker Paul Katis in his debut film “Kajaki”
(2014) has re-constructed the grueling minefield incident of 2006, near Kajaki
dam (situated in Afghan’s Hemland province). It is hailed as one of unflinchingly realistic portrayal of how mines work. The big relief is that
unlike his American counterparts, director Katis doesn’t often throw in words
like ‘bravery’, ‘epic heroism’, and ‘patriotism,’ and also doesn’t employ the
use of slow-motion shots to imbue tension. It provides a painfully realistic cinematic
experience without engaging in grand political statements.
The movie is set on September 6, 2006, where a group of
British soldiers stationed near the hydro-electric dam named ‘Kajaki’ carry on
with their base-camp routine. Viewers expecting a battlefield thriller may get
tired by the initial sequences, because of the authentic portrait of soldiers’
routine and due to the heavy use of military jargon. The soldiers are part of
British Army’s 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (3 Para). The
unit’s sniper, Lance Corporal Stuart Hale (Benjamin O’ Mahony) on that fateful
day, spots hostile Taliban forces, setting an illegal road block. An airstrike
would cause lot of civilian causalities and so Hale takes along two other
paratroopers to get a closer look at the hostile forces. As the trio walk
through a dried-river bed, Hale sets off a landmine, blowing his left leg.
Fellow soldiers scamper to come to aid Hale, but then find out that entire
river-bed is a deadly minefield, where a single unchecked step could result in
explosions. All the factors are beyond the soldiers’ control, since even a
rescuing helicopter could trigger a lot of mines.
In aesthetic terms, especially after considering its limited
budget, “Kajaki” was a well-made piece of work, which sometimes even exceeds
the craftsmanship of American propaganda films on ‘war on terror’. This film
would be compared with Katheryn Bigelow’s Academy-Award “The Hurt Locker”
(2008) mainly because both these works declines to take any ethical stance on
the conflict, people are involved. The script by Tom Williams exclusively
focuses on the ground-level experience of soldiers, whom despite their
painstaking training, come across new horrors. The screenwriter tries to
genuinely show how a real soldier would talk. So, the first 30 minutes is
mostly incomprehensible and the soldiers’ regional British accents exhaust us
more.
Williams and director Katis also take pains to depict how the
chain of command between soldiers worked clearly amidst such unbearable chaos.
Although the dialogues in the later part would have been subjected to heavy
dramatization, they come off touching (especially the ‘Happy Birthday’ song) and
keep us on the edge to learn about their fate. The belivable use of humor does
bring down the insurmountable tension of the proceedings. Viewers who recoil
from gory & clear images of detached limbs must keep themselves away from
this film. The physical effects of each painful explosion, however, aren’t used
in an exploitative manner or to generate a shock-effect. David Elliott (who
played mark) and Stanley (played Tug) are the two most impressing performers of
the ensemble as their tangible commitment somehow reincarnates the bravery of the
real soldiers.
“Kajaki” (108 minutes) is an unflinching and incredibly moving
account of modern warfare that is devoid of jingoism and pro-military agenda. It
avoids the glib romanticism of the recent American warfare films like “Lone
Survivor”, “Fury”, “American Sniper” etc.
Trailer
No comments:
Post a Comment