‘Warfare,’ Thanks to Veterans, Brings Battle of Ramadi to Life Without Tropes or Clichés

The Iraq War film “Warfare,” now wrapping its theatrical run, is making its Apple TV+ streaming debut on Tuesday. The film offers a faithful depiction of combat at Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006, taking a page from the World War II generation by having veterans of Navy SEAL Team 5 tell their story with unprecedented realism.A Special Warfare Operator First Class, Ray Mendoza — a SEAL at Ramadi — co-wrote and directed “Warfare” with the English screenwriter, Alex Garland. Together, they tell the story of Operator Mendoza’s platoon taking sniper positions in an Iraqi home and, a title card states, “uses only their memories” without embellishment. Veterans as storytellers were once common. After World War II, David Niven, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, Humphrey Bogart, Lee Van Cleef, and others turned to acting. The author of “Catcher in the Rye,” J.D. Salinger, carried a draft of the novel at Normandy. Bea Arthur was one of the first women to enlist in the Marines. Although mobilizations for the Korean and Vietnam Wars were smaller, some of those veterans headed to Hollywood. With an all-volunteer army replacing conscription, though, few soldiers, sailors, and airmen have emerged to tell stories from conflicts like Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan, and Iraq.The result has been war stories told through civilian eyes. Mr. Mendoza changes that with “Warfare,” producing something without clichés, tropes, and rousing speeches. None of the actors mount a soapbox to critique President George W. Bush, oil, or the futility of war. These are men on a mission, trying to survive.“Warfare” thrusts us into the urban battle without introduction. There are no preambles about returning to a farm, the girl waiting back home, or being one tour away from retirement. The former speechwriter for President Reagan, Peggy Noonan, once remarked that World War II films always have a guy from Brooklyn. Not “Warfare.”The first character isn’t named until the 15-minute mark. The SEALs don’t refer to each other by rank, either, trusting the audience to understand each man’s role by what’s unfolding on screen. Even the rifles — with peeling yellow paint, held by calloused hands — look more like well-worn tools than props.“Warfare” also dispenses with intricate backstories, clever quips, and comic relief. What audiences get instead are soldiers caked with desert dust, assigned to support a company of Marines. They have flaws and make mistakes, but they back up their brothers in arms. They do their duty.Classified 3-A, John Wayne couldn’t serve in World War II, and the way the Duke shrugged off bullets sometimes rankled veterans. By contrast, the men in “Warfare” scream in pain when wounded and express fear. Morphine isn’t magic. The dead are more realistic than standard film gore. It’s a bitter taste of “seeing the elephant,” as Doughboys called World War I combat.Unlike many of Wayne’s films, “Warfare” doesn’t romanticize its subject. There’s not even a score to make it sound and feel like a movie. The lone song heard — “Valerie,” Steve Winwood’s 1982 hit — is diegetic, meaning part of a scene. It plays in a workout video when the SEALS are relaxing at their base.Rather than rely on music to cue the audience about what to feel and when, “Warfare” makes innovative use of silence. There are scenes that could’ve played in the days before the talkies, replicating the way the shock of bullets and explosions shut down the senses.As for the Iraqis, the combatants are seen only in glimpses, making them more menacing. The family whose house is where the SEALs choose to make their stand are caught in the middle. Americans will find them easy to identify with and give thanks that the Third Amendment prohibits the quartering of soldiers in civilian homes.There’s no shortage of movies professing to be “based on a true story.” Yet “Warfare,” which closes with footage of the Ramadi SEALS giving guidance during production, sticks to events as they happened with strict accuracy. It embeds audiences with soldiers, bringing them closer to seeing the elephant than any film of this generation.

‘Warfare,’ Thanks to Veterans, Brings Battle of Ramadi to Life Without Tropes or Clichés

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