BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge (2004)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Stephen Marshall

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

In late 2003, two filmmakers from the Sundance award-winning Guerrilla News Network spent three weeks...

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Sgt. Robert Hollis	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rana al Aiouby	...	Herself
Farhan al Bayati	...	Himself
Hesham Barbary	...	Himself
Raed Jarrar	...	Himself
Col. Fred Rudesheim	...	Himself
Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman	...	Himself
May Ying Welsh	...	Herself

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

Iraq

Company:

Artists / Media Cooperation

Quotes:

Rana al Aiouby: I will not ask an American to help me to stand up. I can stand up by myself. Why shall I ask the Americans? If they want to help someone, they can help themselves. They can build their country or they can help the poor people who live in the United States. Why do they come here to help me?
Hesham Barbary: What I'm saying is that America is here for its benefit and partially for the Iraqi's benefit.
Rana al Aiouby: So the Americans came here to help the Iraqi people? They didn't come to help the Iraqis. Everybody knows why they came here. Just like - because their economic system collapsed, or fell down, so they have to help themselves. Even if they make a disaster for the others.
[...]

Nuanced and Balanced

This film is a very small snapshot of the Iraq in late 2003 and reflects that moment in time. My opinion is that this film is very pro-US and makes the military effort look good.

It is surprising to see this film shown at left-wing fund raisers since it is a great US Army recruiting film. It made me proud to be an Army veteran.

It does not show the Iraqi forces engaged against the insurgents since the Iraqi forces were not as numerous as they are now.

There is an African American Sergeant Tank Commander who gives a long and very organized monologue about why the US needs to be involved in Iraq. He is more eloquent than any Secretary of State or college professor.

There is an Egyptian businessman who debates an Iraqi translator about the US intentions. He comes at it with a world view and she just sees greedy motivation.

The only thing wrong in my opinion is the emphasis on "Depleted Uranium" munitions. These have been extensively studied and are not any worse than any of the other stuff on the battlefield. The lead from regular ammunition is also poisonous and the radiation from the depleted uranium is only seventy percent of the naturally occurring uranium found in the earth's crust. (Anyone interested is referred to the Federation of American Scientists web page.) The constant cigarette smoking is much more of a threat. At one point the radiation meter is clicking loudly but only reads 2 mR/hr. It would take 150 hours of direct contact with the metal to get the same exposure as one mammogram. These mammograms are recommended yearly for all women over fifty. There is probably much more of a radiation hazard from Saddam's old production sites.

A very enjoyable movie with excellent sound and video editing to make it move nicely.