Battle for Haditha

Battle for Haditha
The Iraq war has been the subject of many feature movies in the past years and Battle for Haditha joins that growing number. Directed by Nick Broomfield, it is an absorbing, skillfully made film about an actual massacre of Iraqi civilians by United States Marines that occurred in November, 2005. Broomfield builds up to this event from three angles : the Marines who carried out the slaughter, an Haditha family that gets swept into the violence of the massacre, and the insurgents who are key in setting off the chain of events that causes the Marines to charge into action. The attitudes of each side are very well detailed and thus the movie has a great balance of viewpoints - from the reasons why the insurgents are so intensely dedicated to battle the Americans, how a family's life is ruined by the fighting in Haditha, and to the driving desire of the Marines to destroy those who are against them. Filmed largely in Jordan, Battle for Haditha has terrific cinematography which captures the often bleak desert terrain in which Haditha is situated. The strong acting adds to the strength of the movie. Apparently, some of the actors were chosen because they did indeed serve in the Iraq war. This is an intense movie, but one that makes the Iraq war come distinctly and vividly alive for its viewers.
-Roy

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