Index – Culture – Our souls were torn by this new war film

If there’s one person in the entertainment industry today whose imagination is hard to compete with, it’s Alex Garland. Although the 54-year-old writer-director selects his projects, whenever he sits in the director’s chair, a film or series emerges that is worth paying attention to. This was the case with Sunshine and Annihilation, which were inclined towards space horror, or even Dredd in 2012, which was loved even by those who already had a hero from superheroes at the time, and Ex Machina, presented two years later, was not a dog either, the latter with a deep philosophy and it was a hard sci-fi filled with moral questions, with the always excellent Alicia Vikander in the lead role. Garland quietly brought us a masterpiece in the person of the Devs series, which no one talks about, even though it exercises the brain circuits in vain, and although the director went a little too far with his disturbing horror film Men, there was still great hope that the A24 Civil war will break out.

And we have good news, the Civil War premiered on April 18 is a hit. What’s more, it wipes the floor with you and gives you a lasting experience that we no longer expect from war films these days, because the genre has become so dwindled and painfully underrepresented, especially in a modern setting.

The Civil War takes place sometime in the not-too-distant future, in an uprooted United States, where the dictator-like president (Nick Offerman) tried in vain to maintain peace with an iron fist, but failed. Chaos, civil war has broken out in the USA, and rebellious civilians and various militarist groups are doing everything to end the president’s reign of terror. The film throws us into this situation bursting with tension, but the main idea of ​​the Civil War is that they are not soldiers,

The main character of the film, Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), does not hold a rifle, but a camera, as he tries to document the bloodshed and human cruelty of the Civil War without judging or interfering. The creed of the Civil War as a film is the same as that of its main character: it does not pass judgment on either side, it does not unravel the political threads, the main causes of the conflict, or its antecedents. It just documents, and it does it very well, making the end result incredibly special. Kirsten Dunst’s character is a somewhat tired, cynical woman, whom Alex Garland humanizes right from the start with only images and a few short flashbacks, showing the horrors she has had to experience so far. From here until the very end, our hearts are constantly pounding in our throats, because the thing happens only in the introductory part of this cruel film.

In addition to Lee, the other main character in Civil War is Wagner Moura, who plays the Reuters journalist Joel, whom the respected reader may know as Pablo Escobar from Narcos, and here the actor takes on the role of a guy who can only maintain his sanity with copious amounts of alcohol and chain smoking, and with tranquilizers mind enough to write. These two are the ones who set off across battered America to interview the president, preferably before the separatists capture and kill the country’s leader. So, Civil War is actually a dystopian road movie, in a location that is eerily reminiscent of the post-apocalyptic visuals of the Walking Dead. Of course, Alex Garland draws more from the visuals of the zombie film he wrote, 28 Days Later – the bottom line is that every frame of the landscape is creepy and exudes an apocalyptic atmosphere.

Lee and Joel are joined by The New York Times veteran Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), as a kind of wise old man, and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), an enthusiastic newcomer, whose role model is Kirsten Dunst, as the young girl similarly wants to be a successful photographer. . But he lacks routine and experience. What could go wrong?

Civil War is the film in which every situation goes wrong, but this keeps the plot moving, and thanks to this, there is never a dull moment of Alex Garland’s work. Whether it’s rifle-wielding villagers, a lone sniper who shoots down everyone in sight, or a racist militarist (Jesse Plemons’ terrifying performance), these press workers don’t have a moment’s rest. In addition to the fact that Civil War is constantly spinning, it brilliantly puts the characters in increasingly extreme conditions, who visit the front lines and even venture into the White House. We are with them, of course, because Garland manages to make us feel like we are there in the hell of the civil war.

The sound design of this film is phenomenal, every gunshot has power, it shocks you, as if you were shooting yourself at a shooting range. And sometimes these shots are fired so unexpectedly that we shudder from them. For this reason alone, Civil War can count on awards due to its aspect and character, rarely does such a war drama thrill so much with just its voice. Let’s add that the photography is also artistic, with great settings, amazing sophistication, and the fact that it cost only 50 million with the whole case and trailer, another feat from Alex Garland. The music fits well with what you see, sufficiently harsh melodies are heard and underline the cruel, hopeless atmosphere.

Since it is an A24 film, and A24 always sneaks some special message into its productions, the question may also arise in the case of Civil War, what it is in this case. Well, although on the surface it really is a war drama, thriller, road movie, in the end it is still a love letter to journalism, to the work of a reporter, a reminder that no matter how horroristic the world is, someone has to document it: take photos, you have to write it. And all this in such cases is done only by the biggest crazies who are in love with their profession.

Kirsten Dunst is a huge revelation for the film, it shines in such a broken role. It doesn’t even occur to us that she was Spider-Man’s girlfriend back then, she too had grown into a serious dramatic actor by the age of 41. He gives one of the best, if not the best, performance of his career in Civil War, and his portrayal of Cailee Spaeny’s Jessie, who plays a rookie photographer, is gut-wrenching. Not only about what his job is as a photographer in the middle of the civil war, but also about how he will be able to survive the armed clashes as a young naive journalist. Because although the focus is on photographers and journalists, like the already mentioned Wagner Mourán, who reminds us again what a good actor he is, here – as mentioned above – the killing goes on normally, with tanks, rifles, rockets, everything that is needed. Death lurks around every corner in this film and can take anyone with it at any time.

Here the dialogues are clever, stylish and snappy, there is something to say and a message from the writer. But then we are talking about Alex Garland, who may have fallen out of love with film directing, but he can still rise above the average politically motivated war films. So that, in fact, he does not directly say a word about current politics.

It is precisely because of this that Civil War can be enjoyable for everyone, it is a universal anti-war film, which sooner or later is sure to become a cult film. And he deserves it, because we rarely say this, but he’s perfect. It’s unavoidable. A must watch category.

10/10

The Civil War is currently being shown in Hungarian cinemas.