This striking and harrowing documentary follows members of the Afghan national army as they battle with the Taliban in Helmand after Nato’s departure in 2014. It’s sobering fare, blending chaotic line-of-fire footage (a hellish standoff in Sangin) with up-close-and-personal accounts of the more mundane aspects of army life. Ruminations upon the fate of young men forced to the frontline by harsh economics serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing price of this conflict, with irregular pay, substandard supplies and the spectre of death an everyday reality. Joe Lewis’s score lends subtly powerful accompaniment, while a roll call of soldiers killed during the making of this film provides a mournful epitaph.
