tmccray

I'm a big fan of Alex Garland and saw this movie had stellar reviews. But it wasn't for me. As a pacifist who also has a physical reaction to blood and gore in large doses, I'm still recovering from seeing this. This is probably the most realistic depiction to date of what it's like to be on the ground in the middle of a war. It dives right into the middle of the action. But without character development, I had a difficult time connecting with the men or feeling any stakes in their outcome. Disconnection also occurred because of the use of authentic military jargon. Garland said this film is made for veterans. That creates difficulties for civilians in understanding exactly what's going on, as most of the story develops over dialogue in a singular location. I'm still rating it a 7 because the acting, production and editing are top notch. It tells an important tale of the costs of war, that I'm concerned many might night see because of its technical and viseral content (so, so much screaming in pain).

This is a high quality production with an easy to follow narrative weaving the connective lines between food and water scarcity and those seeking to control it.

Perhaps one of the reasons that I was so engaged, is because unbeknowst to me before I watched it, a large portion of the story focuses on an issue in my state that I'm very well aware of. Our former Republican governor approved a foreign company to farm land and use unlimited water for free, and send the product back to their home country. This is one of the reasons he was voted out of office. The new Democratic governor cancelled their contract, but in the ensuing years, the foreign country drained the aquifer empty. Amusingly, in the epilogue, Nathan takes credit for the cancellation, without mentioning the change of political power. Everyone in the state was well aware of what happened, it was extensively reported.

It's a reminder to stay politically aware of the politicians that are aligned with corporations and foreign governments who are selling our food and water security away.