Additional Coverage:
- ‘Warfare’ is based on the true story of a Navy SEAL team that fought in Iraq. The directors made it for a soldier who doesn’t remember how he lost a leg. (businessinsider.com)
A24’s new war film, “Warfare,” offers a unique perspective, reconstructing a harrowing 2006 firefight in Ramadi, Iraq, based on the memories of the Navy SEAL team involved. The film is a deeply personal project for co-director Ray Mendoza, a former SEAL who was part of the operation.
His goal: to show his comrade, Elliott Miller, what happened that day. Miller, a sniper and medic, suffered severe injuries, including the loss of a leg and a traumatic brain injury that erased his memory of the event.
Mendoza, who served as the communications officer during the mission, teamed up with Oscar-nominated director Alex Garland to bring this story to life. Garland, impressed by Mendoza’s work as a military advisor on “Civil War,” was eager to collaborate on a true-story war film. For Mendoza, the choice was clear – he wanted to recreate the experience for Miller, who had only ever heard secondhand accounts.
The reconstruction process was a complex undertaking. Nearly two decades had passed, and memories were fragmented and sometimes conflicting.
Garland described the process as piecing together a “strange jigsaw puzzle,” with team members often having different recollections of the same events. Despite the challenges, the directors established a strict rule: adhere to the established timeline, ensuring the film remained true to the collective memory of those involved.
Adding a touch of unexpected realism, the film includes a scene of the SEALs moshing to Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me” before heading out on the mission. Mendoza confirmed this was a pre-mission ritual, offering a glimpse into the youthfulness of the soldiers and grounding the film in its specific time period.
The cast of “Warfare” is a mix of rising Hollywood stars, including Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, and Will Poulter. Garland emphasized that while the casting might seem like a deliberate move to attract attention, the primary focus was finding young but experienced actors who could handle the demanding schedule and intense subject matter.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who portrays Mendoza, noted the importance of casting young actors to accurately represent the age of the soldiers on the front lines. Cosmo Jarvis, who plays Miller, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the often-overlooked youth of those serving in combat.
Beyond its purpose as a personal tribute, “Warfare” provided a poignant moment for Mendoza himself. Walking through the meticulously recreated set, a replica of the Ramadi street where the firefight took place, Mendoza revisited his own memories, a powerful experience witnessed by Jarvis.
“Warfare” is currently playing in theaters.