Battle for Haditha (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Nick Broomfield

Writers:

Nick Broomfield (written by)
Marc Hoeferlin (written by)

Release Date:

7 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

There are many ways to see the same story

Plot:

An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Actual Events | Iraq War | Marine | Al Qaeda | Docudrama

Cast

Matthew Knoll	...	Cpl. Matthews (as Matthew R. Knoll)
Eric Mehalacopoulos	...	Sgt. Ross
Nathan De La Cruz	...	Cpl. Marcus
Elliot Ruiz	...	Cpl. Ramirez
Jase Willette	...	Pfc. Cuthbert
Thomas Hennessy	...	Doc (as Thomas Hennessy Jr.)
Tony Spencer	...	Pfc. Roberts
Vernon Gaines	...	Lcpl. Sosa
Antonio Tostado	...	Lcpl. Jimenez
Ali Adil Aj-kaa	...	Iraqi Translator
Yasmine Hanani	...	Hiba
Siham Rashid	...	Asma
Majd Hijjawi	...	Woman shot in street
Falah Abraheem Flayeh	...	Ahmad (as Falah Flayeh)
Juliet Koshaba	...	Saba

Also Known As:

Untitled Nick Broomfield/Haditha Documentary (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for war violence, disturbing images, and for pervasive language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Jerash, Jordan

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

The film was shot in an unconventional way whereas instead of a detailed script, there was only an outline of each scene and where the story was going. Actors would then improvise much of the dialogue based on director Nick Broomfield's instructions.

better than i expected

i personally never heard of Mr. Bloomfield, so i had no real intention of watching this film till i saw it mentioned in the message boards for other films. that said, i must say this was the best in the recent slew of Iraq war films (like Redacted, Home of the Brave, etc.) i half expected it to be like Redacted and was pleasantly surprised to find it much better. i think it really brought out the fact that there are multiple sides to a story, and did so without too much bias. being a Muslim myself i must admit that it seemed a little inclined towards Iraqis, with Marines portrayed as undisciplined and emotionless (though one of the protagonists feels guilt and in reality this incident caused an uproar). there are no A-list actors, which in a sense, actually made the movie better because you almost see the actors as the characters themselves (especially since a lot of the dialog is improvised). i think it was well made, and well thought out. better than expected. i wonder what the US reaction would if/when it has a release there? unlike Moore's work (as stated by another user here) neither party is shown as completely innocent or completely evil. i'm not sure if this is exactly how the incident took place, but if it is, then there is certainly some food for thought in this movie.