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An American soldier deployed at Abu Ghraib finds himself behind the walls of the infamous Hard Site. He reluctantly develops a secret friendship with an Iraqi detainee, and begins to realize that not everything is what it seems.
"Boys of Abu Ghraib" tells the story of Jack Farmer, a soldier who is sent to Iraq for his first tour of duty. He is sent to Abu Ghraib where most of the high risk prisoners are being held. Him and his fellow soldiers do things around the prison that needs done but there is also a lot of down time when things can be very boring. As time goes by Jack decides to put in as a MP guarding the prisoners. He is given the basic rules of the job which includes never talking to a prisoner unless you are giving them a direct order. This is the one rule he does not keep when a English speaking Iraqi is brought in.
Jack begins to form a friendship with the man which causes Jack to defend the man.
One thing you need to know before watching this is that this is not a war film, it is more a military prison drama. but even though the film has a slow pace it is never once boring thanks to the many different characters in the film and all the things that are going on.
If you go into this looking for a film that focuses solely on the abuse my the Americans at the prison you might be a bit disappointed because this is more one man's experience working at the prison where the torturing was going on. But there are still some graphic moments in the film and the tension is always high. You really get a feel for what these soldiers go through when deployed and you really feel for them and their mental state.
Luke Moran plays Jack in the film but he also wrote and directed the film as well which I found pretty impressive considering this was his first time behind the camera. The rest of the cast did a great job playing their characters as well. I am not a big fan of war movies but I could not take my eyes off the screen. It is a tough watch at times but it is also engaging all the way to the end.
"Boys of Abu Ghraib" may not tell the full story of what went on but it does a great job telling a piece of the story. The film is available on DVD, you can order it HERE.
Released by Vertical Entertainment
**** Out Of *****