Mosul With Adam Bessa & Suhail Dabbach

Director Matthew Michael Carnahan’s debut film shocked audiences with its level of violence and authenticity about the war against terrorism in Iraq.

Mosul is a film produced by the Russo brothers – authors of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). The film’s title is the second largest city in Iraq, which was once prosperous.

However, the landmark with thousands of years of history was violently destroyed by the terrorist organization Islamic State IS from 2014 to 2017. Revolving around the mission of the Nineveh SWAT force, the work shows a devastating picture of the Iraqi people’s fight against IS in their homeland without the intervention of white “saviours”.

The special task force causes terror to IS

When the last strongholds of the Islamic State clustered in the city of Mosul, the battle here became desperate. Every house, every street was plowed into pieces by bombs and bullets.

In the four years since 2014, not the US or European armies, but Nineveh SWAT has been the most persistent fighting force. When the white men with their giant “war machines” withdrew, the war in the ruins was left to the natives.

Most members of Nineveh SWAT have a blood debt with ISIS terrorists.

Made up of former police officers around the city, people injured by terrorists, people who lost loved ones, lost their homes, and seething with the will to take revenge, Nineveh SWAT did not let IS rest a day.

Typically, terrorists will perform a “towba” ritual on prisoners of war, allowing them the choice of surrendering or being executed. Members of Nineveh SWAT – famous for their ruthlessness towards IS – once they fall into enemy hands, will be instantly terminated. One member of the group said: “We have destroyed too many terrorists.”

Inspired by the article The Desperate Battle to Destroy ISIS ( The Desperate Battle to Destroy ISIS ) in The New Yorker , director Matthew Michael Carnahan and the two Russo brothers crafted the work focusing deeply on the war in The heart of the city is ruined.

The true face of war

Contrary to many Hollywood productions with the appearance of white “saviors”, in Mosul , a cast of Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern actors from many countries told the story of Iraqis trapped in the war. struggle with the enemy. There, Americans were only mentioned in passing as those who left behind ruins without regard for the lives of the indigenous people.

The main character Kawa (Adam Bessa) is a young police officer who has only been on the job for two months. He was surrounded by ISIS, then was rescued and joined the Nineveh SWAT team. With his uncle shot dead, Kawa – like many members of the team who had lost loved ones or were injured by terrorists – set out deep into enemy territory.

Towards the end, the battle against IS became more fierce and made the audience unpredictable in its severity.

It is not a war of advanced technological equipment or patriotic pride. The war with IS in its waning days became as brutal as the Middle Ages.

The true face of war shows its most fierce aspects: terrorists use civilians as human shields, shoot and kill children and women without sparing anyone, rob the homes of those who cannot flee in time, and rape them. forcing other people’s wives and children…

When the gun barrel lowered, the knife and ax were drawn. Some people were shot dead by their comrades, some people tripped on mines and died without a complete corpse. Someone was left to bleed to death. Children carry their parents’ bodies to bury them. Like Kawa, the audience was unaware of the mission, nor did they anticipate all the chaos and suffering that poured into Mosul’s 100-minute running time .

The hope of human love

In contrast to the cruel realistic picture, the humanity of Mosul blossoms in the personalities of its seemingly emotionless warriors. Major Jasem (Suhail Dabbach) has the ruthlessness and determination of a leader, but only needs a short break to pick up trash and put it in the bin.

Behind the steely personality “of a wolf”, Jasem shows Kawa his fatherly concern for the entire squad. The group’s loss caused Jasem great pain, while he still struggled to find a way to complete the mission.

When the movie comes to an end, that’s when Kawa and viewers learn what the mission that the team fought to the end is all about. Thousands of years of history, religion and conflict have shaped the current chaotic and tragic landscape.

After all, life will sprout from death.

The ending of the movie when the mission is revealed brings great things back to human nature, back to the most basic values such as family, brotherhood, parents and children. That is also the ending that gives hope, that life will triumph over death, humanity will triumph over brutality, and the sacrifices of the Nineveh SWAT team will be rewarded with a better future for Mosul.

Although Mosul still falls into the cliché Western character type (from dialogue to action), it is impossible to deny the crew’s efforts in choosing a cast of Middle Eastern origin to tell the story from a perspective. of insiders.

Two years after the war passed, the ancient city that was once flattened has seen life return. The streets were repaired, people returned to their ruined homes to build new lives.

Mosul recreated a part of history, reminding that the war in Iraq was never about white people. It is the indigenous people who are the faces worthy of telling their stories