The Mark of Cain

This movie had its World Premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Unfortunately it didn't have any subtitles, so the British-English dialog was sometimes very hard to understand.

The movie follows a group of British soldiers in Iraq showing their sometimes forced humiliation against Iraqi soldiers, their psychological problems, the cover ups in the British army and the outcome during a trial.

The movie is obviously low budget, but the outcome is very well. The first quarter of the film starts powerful, then it skips to TV drama style for a while, (i didn't really like that) but the ending is again very powerful.

7.5/10. I wonder if this movie is still going to be aired on television or if they decide to release this is in cinema. It is certainly a lot better than the standard blockbuster films we see....

This film angered me so much, I've written a review on it even given the age of it now.

It appears after reading other reviews that are clearly written by people with hatred for the British Army or by people who have no idea what war is like, or even what life in the army is like. With people honestly saying that this is an accurate portrayal of what happens in war and that it paints an honest picture of what went on in Iraq. That's either seriously misguided or biased thinking or just downright slanderous lies.

As somebody who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, this film does nothing but insult me and every young man and woman who has served and those who are still serving. It paints the army to be a bunch of young, sadistic, idiotic thugs, it couldn't be any more wrong if it tried.

Utterly disgusting and s***s all over the efforts in Iraq of both the living and the deceased . The director should be ashamed of himself for this steaming turd.

Alright . I have just finished watching the movie, and I am glad we finally got something showing the real thing of whats going on in Iraq. Can I say the movie is real ? No, because in fact its showing the tiniest part of reality; as Iraqis are not only tortured as the movie shows, they are killed tens of times while they're alive, not to mention the crimes of chastity, which Muslims protect most, through the liberation troops' sexual assaults of Iraqi girls, particularly before their fathers or brothers, or husbands.

One thing is important, and the movie suffers because of it, is not having subtitles. Indeed British English is hardly understandably, and the more important is the Arabic spoken by locals, as the Arabic speeches during the movie are very important to understand what is going on, and basically, you would not recognize how much the locals involved in the movie's plot suffer, unless you understand what is said by them.

Thanx for the creators .. of course a very good movie , fair and just

Tony Marchant's film 'The Mark of Cain' tells three stories: that of the impossible task facing British soldiers in Iraq; that of the terrible cruelties they inflicted on Iraqi suspects; and that of a cover-up in the chain of command. The story is fictional but based on true events; however, there's less evidence in the real world for the cover-up than for the other two elements, and while it seems plausible, this aspect of the tale feels more "written" than the other two. And as always with Marchant, there's a careful and clever manipulation of the viewer's sympathies throughout: I never quite feel that Marchant gives me the space to form my own opinion. But it's strong stuff, well-performed and unflinching, even if it doesn't really say much in the end except that bad things happen in war.

Although Mark of Cain isn't a bad movie, and most of the acting is in fact pretty good, it seems to be lacking a clear purpose. For a movie that aims to make a political statement, it seems to pull its punches at the most crucial moments. As a movie that wants to tell a story about a modern war, although realistic and often gritty, it is not nearly as powerful as Platoon or as intricate as Jarhead. In fact, the power of the story seems to peter out after the first two-thirds of the movie. For example, the technique of starting with a crucial scene, and then flashing back to this scene as the story unfolds, becomes less powerful. Eventually, the viewer pretty well knows what to expect. Watch Mark of Cain, expect some poignant scenes, but don't expect any new insights in that fiasco known as Iraq and don't expect to see war's truly horrific face.