Here is a nerve-rackingly suspenseful recreation of a gruesome incident during the Afghan war: on patrol in Helmand, a unit of British paratroopers are stranded in a minefield left over from the Soviet invasion. Despite manoeuvres to extricate themselves, several men are injured, and blunders back at base mean rescue attempts cause even more havoc. With its unswerving commitment to depict the soldiers as ordinary men in an extraordinary situation – not unlike recent Troubles drama ’71 – Kajaki remains fundamentally incurious about wider political considerations. Indeed, with barely a shot fired in anger, and little evidence of actual Afghans, it’s clear the subject matter was picked to avoid such thematic quicksand. Still, this film possesses a lacerating power that reinforces its self-contained claustrophobia.
• Why is Hollywood’s take on the Afghan conflict so different from the UK’s?
