Kajaki

I was 21 at 1973, only 4 month after my army service, mandatory of course, as is army service in Israel, i just finished 3 years of hard service, 4/5 of it under constant fire, i was at the Suez canal and the Egyptians were shooting at us non stop, we did not respond, ammo was in short supply, and we just tried to keep our posts. Then, on September, all the Arab countries surrounding Israel issued an attack, it was Yom Kippur, our holiest day of the year, most of the soldiers were at home, we were attacked from all sides, transportation arrived to soldier houses and took all to the war, me too. I met my tank crew at the south desert, we got the tank on the truck and headed to the fight zone, few kilometers from there we drove off the truck and headed south, to try and stop the Arab tanks, we fought the whole day, watching our tanks get hit by rpg rockets, and by the second day we were ordered to drive behind the Egyptians and try to block the second wave of Arabic tanks that was crossing the canal, on the way to the canal, we were hit by an rpg, the gunman died immediately, me and the 2 crew members managed to get out, i shot the guy with the rpg, but his friends on a jeep escaped and informed others about us, so, 100 kilometers from any Israeli army, in the desert, an area full of our own mines, intended to block a possible Arabic attack, there were us, me, the driver, and a seriously wounded loader. want to know what happened to us? watch the film, it is really our crew's story! we stayed there 7 days, no water, with thousands of mines around us, the heat was 50 plus Celsius, we were shot, buried by tanks, but we survived.

Having served this film is often too painful to watch (the reason for my giving it a 9/10). It expresses the suffering and comradeship of warfare.

This isn't just a film it's an education for a society disassociated from war. For those critics war isn't glorious or romantic. It's dirty and boring, and yes, people screw up. If you're stuck in a minefield without all the Gucci kit it's a bayonet and you're belt buckle, and it's hot and tiring and you make mistakes. Soldiers (at least the Toms) don't speak received English (so maybe you might have to pay more attention to what is being said)and yes they swear, live with it!

There are plenty of wonderful war films where the (usually American) protagonists win the day with either a fashionable injury or glorious death; this isn't one of them. There is however humour and pathos in war and this expressed in loads. If everyone knew what war was really like nobody would want anything to do with one.

I was privileged to attend one of four UK regional charity premieres on Tuesday 25 November ahead of the UK general release at VUE Cinemas on Friday 28 November. Each premiere was located in or near the home town of one the soldiers portrayed in the film such that family and friends could attend, and where possible, the actual people portrayed on- screen too. Bristol is the home town of Stu Hale who was portrayed on- screen by Benjamin O'Mahony. Stu was present at the screening and answered questions with the cast and crew at the Q&A afterwards. A portion of all the ticket sales across the UK goes directly to charities supporting returning servicemen and servicewomen. This all speaks to the very special nature of this film. In his introduction before the screening, director Paul Katis described it as a modern war film. It is indeed, and it takes an honourably neutral view of the conflict. At its heart this is the true story of a group of extremely brave men facing a difficult situation.

The action takes place back in September 2006 in Afghanistan where a British army unit is responsible for the security at a key dam, which when fully commissioned, will provide hydroelectric power. Unbeknownst to them, the area is also home to a minefield left-over from the Soviet invasion in 1979/80. On a routine security patrol some of the unit find themselves trapped in the minefield when one of them is seriously injured after stepping upon a mine. Over the course of the film we get to learn more about the characters and see many examples of extraordinary bravery, all of which actually happened.

This is powerful storytelling and writer Tom Williams has crafted a screenplay which reflects the truth and helps the audience understand the complexities of the situation. It walks the difficult line between intense and life-threatening action vs. the humour which people can use as a coping mechanism in such situations. Director Paul Katis holds nothing back and the full horrors of war are on display here, including some graphic injuries. This is all done in a non-gratuitous way and is part of the brutal and uncomfortable honesty of the events.

I, along with the rest of the audience, sat on the edge of my seat and there are several moments of shocking surprise throughout this tense thriller. This is a film worth going to see in cinemas with an audience and at my screening several spontaneous rounds of applause broke out at key moments in the end credits. Highly recommended.

I can highly recommend this film to anyone who can handle the intensity of a gruesome war film. The film starts slow and is filled with typical tough guy war banter and then the intensity jumps dramatically as the film re-creates a real story for Afganistan where soldiers are trapped in a minefield. Gripping, intense, sad, fierce and powerful. It is not a political film, but will get you to think deeply about the wars of the middle East and how we fight them.

A very well made film that often feels like a documentary. Flawless filming and acting to make you feel there.

This film is NOT for everyone. This film is quite gruesome and captures the reality of land mines.

NOTE: The heavy British accents required us to turn on captions.

I wanted to score the film an 8.5, but upgraded to a 9 based on powerful filming, intensity, real-ness and solid acting.

'Kajaki' is probably one of the most intense war movies you will ever watch. Having said this, note this is not a full-on war movie. Instead, this is dramatic events as a result of war.

The film is incredibly well made and realistic. Thus some of the scenes are almost unbearable to watch. 'Kajaki' is one of those rare films that are almost too well made to sit through thinking this is entertainment. It plays like a documentary - almost like a found footage tape, only its not found footage style. It is heart wrenching, cringe worthy, and also a sad reality. The acting was superb. The lack of CGI made it all that more realistic. The film also has no score. Most of the film is in absolute silence, which is highly effective and also very creative.

The dialogue features many codes and lingo I didn't understand. The dialogue was really strange, yet realistic, but very difficult to follow. Despite that, the film itself was easy enough to follow. The make-up is incredible! 'Kajaki' is a film you can't really describe to anyone - you have to experience it for yourself - maybe best viewed alone at least once. This certainly is a film I will remember for a very long time.

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