Kajaki

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.

The other reviews are all correct, Kajaki is honest, illuminating, and brilliantly delivered. I only point out for the sake of other people deciding whether to watch this, it really is harrowing. If you don't have a specific interest in the realities of war, you might find yourself wishing you hadn't started it.

Does this story need to be told? Absolutely Do I wish I'd watched a comedy instead? Yes

There's only a handful of so called "war films" I consider to be films about the actual reality of war. HBO's mini-series 'Generation Kill' is probably the most realistic when it comes to the depiction of modern warfare - but 'Kajaki' (also known as 'Kilo Two Bravo') gives it a run for its money: this criminally under-seen masterpiece should be considered a modern classic. The production values are fantastic; the cinematography, the script and the direction are absolutely flawless - but you won't notice them. What you will notice is the outstanding ensemble of actors, portraying characters in a way you forget you're watching a movie. They will make you cringe, laugh, cry and hold your breath in shocked disbelief and utter horror.

This film had me literally on the edge of my seat the entire time, but what really grabs you by the gut is not just the suspense and the horror; it's the relationships between these soldiers and how they look out for each other. How close men become when their lives depend on each other has probably rarely been depicted on screen with the intensity and no-bullshît, keep-it-real attitude as is the case here. And knowing that what you're seeing actually happened only adds to the experience (for this film IS an experience). Definitely not the kind of war film that you come across very often. Superb. 9 stars out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

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.

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.