Battle for Haditha is a 2007 drama film directed by British director Nick Broomfield based on the Haditha killings. Dramatising real events using a documentary style, Battle for Haditha is Broomfield's follow up to Ghosts. The film was aired on Channel 4 in the UK on 17 March 2008.
| Battle for Haditha | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Nick Broomfield |
| Written by | Nick Broomfield Marc Hoeferlin Anna Telford |
| Produced by | Nick Broomfield |
| Starring | Elliot Ruiz Yasmine Hanani Hadiitha García Puga |
| Cinematography | Mark Wolf |
| Edited by | Stuart Gazzard Ash Jenkins |
| Music by | Nick Laird-Clowes |
| Distributed by | HanWay Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | English Arabic |
| Box office | $245,521 |
Plot
editThe film is inspired by the Haditha killings incident that occurred three months after the Battle of Haditha in the Iraq War. On 19 November 2005 in Haditha, a city in the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar, 24 unarmed Iraqi men, women, and children were killed by a group of United States Marines following an incident where an I.E.D killed one Marine and seriously wounded two others. Since the release of the film, the US military controversially[2][3] dropped all charges to all Marines involved.[4] The names of the Marines have been changed in the film, while the Iraqi civilians retain their real names.[5]
Production
editShot in Jerash, Jordan, the film uses former US Military personnel and Iraqi refugees to play many of the roles.[6] However, the film was shot in an unconventional way – it was shot sequentially enabling the cast to build their characters as the story progressed. It also used real locations, and a very small documentary style film crew. This greatly added to the feeling of reality. Actors, while working from a detailed script, and the final form of the film reflects that structure, were also able to improvise and add to the dialogue, making it their own.
Cast
editThe film features:
- Elliot Ruiz as Cpl Ramirez, a Marine who loses his composure after watching a friend die
- Andrew McLaren as Captain Sampson, the tough company commander in Charge of Cpl Ramirez
- Jase Willette as PFC Cuthbert, the young Marine whose death sets off the chain of events
- Yasmine Hanani as Hiba, a young Iraqi woman stuck in the middle of the chaos
- Eric Mehalacopoulos as the no-nonsense Sgt Ross
- Nathan Delacruz a former United States Marine plays Cpl Marcus with his infamous comical one liners
- Falah Flayla as a former Iraqi Army officer turned insurgent
- Thomas Hennessy Jr. as a Navy corpsman assigned to Kilo company
Film festivals
editBattle for Haditha was presented at the Toronto Film Festival on 11 September 2007.[7] Director Nick Broomfield won the Silver Shell award for Best Director at the San Sebastian Film Festival on 29 September 2007.[8] It was also presented at the London Film Festival on 30 October 2007.[9]
Critical reception
editMetacritic reported the film had an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Movies about Iraq war plentiful at Toronto film festival". 12 September 2007.
- ^ "Iraq says to take legal action for Haditha victims". Reuters. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ Walker, Mark (20 April 2007). "Immunity grants may signal problems with Haditha prosecution". North County Times. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
- ^ MILITARY: Haditha Marine acquitted
- ^ "Time Out London interview with Nick Bloomfield". Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ Koehler, Robert (17 September 2007). "Variety review of Battle for Haditha". Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ "Toronto International Film Festival schedule". Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ "San Sebastian Film Festival official awards". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ "London Film Festival schedule" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ "Battle for Haditha (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
External links
edit- Official website
- Battle for Haditha at IMDb
- Battle for Haditha at Metacritic
- Defend Our Marines interview with Elliot Ruiz
