Battle for Haditha
February 2009 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

In November 2005, a roadside IED exploded in Iraq, killing a Marine and injuring two others. In blind fury, the surviving Marines in the convoy killed five persons from a passing automobile and then went hunting in a nearby apartment complex, where they murdered 19 civilians, many of them women and children. Director Nick Broomfield has fashioned a dramatic re-creation of the day leading up to these events from military and news reports, eyewitness accounts, and video footage shot by a local teen.

In the United States, we are accustomed to seeing events such as this broadcast on the evening news from an American viewpoint, which relegates the victims to numbers, as if to say that an Iraqi life is not worth an American life. Broomfield tells the story from three points of view: that of the Marines, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who planted the bomb. In his film, lives are equal.

The most conflicted character is Ahmad (Falah Falyeh), a middle-aged husband and father who agrees to plant the bomb for insurgents because he needs the money. He’s also been convinced by the people who hired him that he’ll strike a blow against the Americans and help drive them out of the country. When so many Iraqis are killed, he is dismayed at the disaster he has helped effect.

The Iraqi citizens are represented by Hiba (Yasmine Hanai), a young married woman who actually sees the bomb being planted. If she tells the Americans, she will no doubt be killed by the insurgents as an informer; if she does nothing, the Americans will be killed and blame it on Iraqis in general. No movie sets forth the plight of the citizen caught in the middle of the conflict as well as this one.

The Marines are portrayed in a bad light, as men who are under so much control that they lose it when something outside that control happens. Before the event, there’s much horseplay, buddy stuff and hoo-rahs. But after the event, we can only see them as killers who are supported in their effort by higher command. Yet they do not come across as total monsters. Broomfield went to great trouble to find former military men to play the roles, and they bring a chilling authenticity to their work. Elliot Ruiz, as Ramirez, the soldier who starts the massacre, is outstanding. One is tempted to predict a long acting career for him, should he choose it.

The movie is shot in documentary style as if the documentarians had the best digital equipment imaginable. The color is solid, focus is good, and contrast is right on the money. This very good picture seems to be carried over to DVD with absolute accuracy. The sound makes good use of the surrounds to place the viewer inside the scene along with the action.

Extras include two commentaries, one with director Broomfield and one with Ruiz. There’s a very long (perhaps too long) 51-minute documentary on the making of the film, and there are interviews with Ruiz and Eric Mehalacopoulos, another of the Marines. The latter makes it quite clear that he thinks the war in Iraq was a total mistake. Both men have a lot of praise for the Iraqi people. To cap things off, screen tests are offered that show Ruiz and Andrew McClaren improvising scenes that got them their roles.

The Iraq War is such a contentious issue that it is perhaps difficult to view any depiction of it with a completely open mind. This is the first movie I’ve seen that at least endeavors to present all sides fairly. It is a must-see; then the decision as to whom to hold responsible is up to each viewer. Mind you, the movie is entertaining as well -- a kick-ass war movie with great energy and tightly edited action. It’s a powerful, searing experience, and, at the risk of repeating myself, whether you rent or buy, a must-see.

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