TodayIraq documentary coming to Carlisle
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Article RatingHere’s the situation: A new film that illustrates the complexity of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq is coming to Carlisle.
Director Philip Haas says “The Situation” peels back the newspaper headlines that bombard readers with numbing statistics of bombings and deaths but fail to illuminate just what’s going on in the nation torn apart by violence.
“I think people come out of the movie saying ‘I look at the headlines in a different way’,” says the 54-year-old Haas, who has been known more for adapting novels to the silver screen than war drama.
Carlisle Theatre will show the film March 24, immediately following a 7 p.m. discussion of the Iraq war featuring retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, former commandant of the U.S. Army War College, and two other panelists.
Panel discussions have accompanied the showing of the film in cities such as New York and Washington, D.C., Haas says.
The film tells the fictional story of an American journalist, Anna, who wants to find out the truth behind the murder of an Iraqi leader, set against the backdrop of Iraq in 2004.
Actress Connie Nielsen plays the role of the journalist. Other key roles include Dan, a U.S. intelligence official played by Damian Lewis, and a young Iraqi photographer named Zaid, played by Mido Hamada.
Haas says he worked hard to produce an objective, accurate portrayal of the conflict and the many layers of Iraqi society.
For that reason, he thinks the film will play well in a conservative-leaning town that is home to the Army’s premiere institution of higher learning.
“The guy who helped me stage battle scenes was a Republican and served in Iraq,” Haas says. “The soldiers I’ve spoken to — regardless of their position on whether the U.S. should complete the mission or pull out — said the film very much reflects their experience in Iraq.”
On the other hand, he says, college audiences think the film is “too easy on the troops” — despite the opening scene depicting American soldiers throwing an Iraqi boy off a bridge.
Haas says the film, shot in Morocco using Arab actors, tries to illustrate the consequences of the war on Iraqis.
“I think the reason a lot of Republicans like the film is it says it’s an Iraqi problem,” he says. “I’ve had Republicans come up to me afterward and say, ‘This is terrific because it shows the complexity of what’s going on’.”
But, he adds, the U.S. “opened Pandora’s box” and now there are not always easy distinctions between good guys and bad guys.
If Iraq today has changed any since 2004, it has become harder to understand, he says.
Journalists have described 2004 as “the good old days when a journalist could move around the country,” he says. “There’s a civil war now.”
For Haas, “The Situation” is a departure from his previous films, such as 1995’s “Angels and Insects” or the more recent “Up at the Villa.”
He says films about wars usually come well after they’re over and feature typical themes of battles and soldiers coming home.
Rather than producing a sweeping historical epic, he wanted something immediate with a sense of urgency.
“It’s not painting a pretty picture regarding the occupation,” he says.
Instead of using crane shots, the film was shot using hand-held cameras, creating a sense that the viewer is there.
One departure from reality can be found in the film — classical Arabic, and not Iraqi Arabic, is spoken during the 30 percent of the dialog that is not in English.
