A Brilliant Conflict

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This is such a good series. I was hooked immediately. So real and so powerful.

This show will rock you to your core. I was hooked after the first episode I saw. It details the horror of war, the toll it takes on civilians & the exceptional bravery of those willing to stand for what's right. Bar none, one of the best shows on TV right now.

I've seen just about every documentary show about American military in the middle east wars (the "Forever Wars") since they started post 9/11. This show is told from several different points of view, from American, Italian, Swedish, and Norwegian volunteers in the endless battle against "ISIS". These men believe in what they're doing - "we are men of deeds, not words" but some, through the nature of the battlefield seem to have varying degrees of belief in just how much they are helping. Is this a show about American mercenaries like Blackwater/Xe or Executive Outcomes? No, it isn't - because as these volunteers are quick to point out, none of them are paid for what they do. Some fight or medic for the Peshmerga (the de facto Kurdish army) and others fight for the YPG (a sort of splinter group or auxiliary of the Peshmerga, also manned and commanded mainly by Kurds). Many have gone home then returned several times. Their motivations seem to vary from man to man, with perhaps the adrenaline-junkie factor being the most under-rated of all. And you just can't help but empathize with the medic Pete - an American vet of Iraq who does medic duty for the YPG. "Pete, 27, recounts how he returned to civilian life after tours of duty in the Middle East and found himself becoming an aimless alcoholic." Pete seems to be getting jaded before our eyes. All too many of his triage patients die later, including infants and children - and he wonders aloud just how much good he is really doing - and how much longer he can keep doing it until he suffers permanent burn-out. A sympathetic, poignant and sensitive look at war through the eyes of people who could have easily avoided it - but choose to return to the battlefield anyway.

This is how news in the Western World used to be presented. Awesome coverage, we had a lot of "pause and discuss" watching these!