Only The Dead

"Only The Dead" is a 2015 documentary film by Australian journalist Michael Ware. This visceral and profoundly moving film offers a unique perspective on the Iraq War by an individual who was present at the center of the storm.

The film is not a typical Hollywood production, it does not possess a glossy sheen or a fictitious plot to lure audiences. Rather, it brings its viewers a horrifyingly real, raw, and honest record of the Iraq War as experienced by its director, Michael Ware. Ware spent years in Iraq as a war correspondent for CNN and Time magazine, and it was during his time there that the footage for "Only The Dead" was collected.

The film is a compilation of ware's personal experiences and footage recorded on a handheld camera that he carried through the streets, houses, and battlegrounds of Iraq. Bosnian filmmaker Bill Guttentag helped Michael Ware assemble seven years’ worth of his footage into a coherent narrative that provides an intimate and intensely personal view of the war. The actuality of the scenes depicted can be disquieting due to their realistic portrayal of war and terror.

Central to the film is the horrifying figure of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al-Qaeda leader who led the insurgency against US forces in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi, credited with single-handedly triggering the civil war in Iraq, is not presented as a stereotypical villain. Instead, Ware attempts to dissect the complexities of Al-Zarqawi's character and the terror he commanded.

Uniquely, the film exposes the audience to both sides of the bloody war, offering a visceral portrait of the violence that unfurls. "Only The Dead" is a brave exploration of the personal and public consequences of warfare, illustrating the brutality known all too well by those who were there.

"Only The Dead" starts with Ware's first reluctant steps into the war zone and follows his journey over the course of seven years living dangerously within the war-torn landscape. This journey in itself presents the viewers with a compelling character arc as they witness Ware's transformation from a fresh-faced reporter to a hardened journalist displaying clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rather than just presenting a diorama of war, "Only The Dead" showcases the individual people amidst the conflict. It pitch-perfectly captures soldiers in high-pressure moments of combat, soldiers joking around to alleviate stressful situations, and soldiers suffering profoundly human moments of fear, horror, and uncertainty. The documentary puts a human face to the often anonymous figures of war.

The film does not shy away from showing the brutality and savagery of battle, sometimes to a rather explicit extent, echoing the brutality and chaos of war in all its horror. This authentic portrayal manages to add a depth of understanding and sets it apart from the sanitized realities often portrayed in commercial cinema.

The intimacy of the footage and voiceover narration serves as a strong accompaniment through the documentary, contributing to a narrative that is at times inescapably captivating and undeniably tragic. The film also incorporates a sort of nonlinear narrative, reflective of the chaos and unpredictability of Ware's disjointed experiences in Iraq.

While the documentary is primarily about conflict and the human cost of war, "Only The Dead" also cautiously delves into the political situations and decisions surrounding the Iraq War without becoming overly partizan. It addresses these events broadly but never loses sight of the personal, human stories.

Described as a `war memoir’ by its creators, "Only The Dead" has been praised for its gritty realism and vivid storytelling. However, it is worth bearing in mind that this film is not for the faint-hearted. Some scenes may prove distressing due to their graphic content.

In conclusion, "Only The Dead" is a remarkable piece of filmmaking that brings viewers closer to the reality of war than most other films could aspire to. It’s a meditation on the nature of conflict and the human cost often glossed over. By squarely facing the horrors of war, the documentary provides a stark warning of the true human price of conflict.