What if They gave a War and Nobody Came? (spoilers)
The film and video game industries of western imperialist powers usually do a sterling job of helping to convince young men (and women) to violate their universal evolved (some might say god-given) morality not to kill other people, to take money from the state to become trained killers, and to go overseas to kill the Johnny foreigners who defy being dictated to by said western imperialist powers. Generations of Yanks and Brits in particular have been suckered into killing in the name of $$$ and £££ by gung-ho jingoistic “war” films and games, where the greatest and most atrocious man-made obscenity – death and destruction on an industrial scale – is turned into “action” entertainments, for the purpose of thrilling and recruiting the masses to perpetuate imperialist military might. For a contemporary Afghan war example, see the truly dire 'Jarhead 2: Field of Fire'.
Trouble is, the real life of soldiers in real live warfare situations is NOT at all like it is in those “action” entertainments. So when an ex-British Army Officer writes and directs a realistic portrayal of a grass-roots small unit mutiny, set in a contemporary theatre of war, it’s no surprise (though depressingly predictable) that fanboys of said “action” entertainments feel moved to vent their disapproving spleens (as adjacent threads indicate). An anti-war film is hardly likely to satisfy “war” movie fanboys – but if it helps potential military recruits from the 99% to doubt the wisdom of becoming paid-for killers doing the 1%ers’ bidding, then it’s squarely on the side of the angels (of peace).
Modern indigenous armed insurgencies are made up men just as clever as the foreigners whom they’re fighting, so unsurprisingly they do not line up to be gunned down like cannon fodder within a few metres of the enemy (as in so many “action” entertainments) – they wisely make use of the tactical terrain advantage of attacking from hard cover, combined with the effective range of modern assault rifles, to engage occupation forces at a distance. As stated elsewhere, “98% boredom and 2% sheer bloody terror” may not make for much of an “action” entertainment, but it does graphically underpin the slow-burning and dramatic mutiny portrayed in ‘The Patrol’.
Congratulations to writer/director/producer Tom Petch and the cast and crew of ‘The Patrol’ for using a small budget to great effect in accurately illustrating the futility of attempting to settle conflict by military occupation. When we’ve learned how to cleverly solve our differences without resorting to industrial-scale death and destruction, we’ll have earned our (currently ironically inaccurate) species designator Homo sapiens – wise humanity. Till then, the more anti-war films, the better (IMHO, ’natch).