Every generation sees a filmmaker attempt to redefine how war is portrayed on screen. From Saving Private Ryan to Black Hawk Down to Dunkirk, certain films have left indelible marks on the genre. Now, Warfare, helmed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, takes that legacy a step further. At a historic screening at Hollywood's Legion Theater, veterans, select media, and filmmakers witnessed a raw, unfiltered depiction of combat unlike anything before it. But what makes Warfare so groundbreaking?
The Power of Uncompromising Realism
Garland and Mendoza make a bold artistic choice: stripping away the comforts of traditional storytelling. There is no conventional score to guide emotions, no exposition to introduce characters, no Hollywood embellishments. The film unfolds as if we are silent witnesses to a brutal, unforgiving firefight in 2006 Ramadi.
This verité style filmmaking immerses audiences in the relentless anxiety of combat. The soldiers are not introduced by name or backstory; they simply exist in the moment. When the mission spirals into chaos, the audience is not just watching—they are experiencing. The weight of the moment, the deafening gunfire, the disorienting darkness—it's all deliberately designed to bring us closer to the psychological and physical toll of war.
The Human Cost of Memory
One of the film's most compelling elements is its relationship with memory. Mendoza and Garland crafted Warfare based on firsthand accounts, primarily Mendoza's own recollections of that fateful day. Yet, memory is imperfect—eroded by time, trauma, and concussions. As Garland poignantly notes: “Memory is a complicated thing. It's not like video; it's not like photographs. It's affected by stress, trauma, and time.”
This struggle to piece together reality adds an extra layer of authenticity. The cast—Cosmo Jarvis (Elliot), Joseph Quinn (Sam, standing in for Joe Hildebrand), and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Mendoza)—were selected for their youth and willingness to endure immersive, intensive training. Their performances feel less like acting and more like reliving real events.
Commitment to Accuracy: The Smallest Details Matter
The filmmakers' attention to realism extended to minute details. A striking example: a seemingly misplaced wall in a key location puzzled Garland and the veterans alike—until Joe Hildebrand recalled breaking through it with a sledgehammer. The art department reconstructed the wall overnight, and the actors reenacted its demolition the very next day.
This level of precision is rare in Hollywood. It speaks not only to the film's authenticity but to its reverence for the real people whose experiences it portrays.
A Film That Transcends Cinema
More than just a war movie, Warfare is an act of remembrance. It serves as both a tribute to fallen comrades and a therapeutic tool for veterans still grappling with their experiences. Mendoza himself described it as a way to “start a conversation for those who struggled to find the words.”
For audiences, this film is an unrelenting, nerve-wracking journey into combat. For those who lived it, Warfare is a way to reclaim and share their truth.
Garland and Mendoza have done something extraordinary. They have not just told a war story; they have transcribed it from the raw, unvarnished reality of memory. With unflinching honesty and technical mastery, Warfare is not just a movie—it's an experience.
This film will undoubtedly be a touchstone for war cinema moving forward, pushing the genre into new territory where truth, rather than spectacle, is the ultimate goal.
Do you think Warfare‘s approach to realism is the future of war films, or do audiences still need a touch of Hollywood storytelling?
