Kajaki: The True Story, released in North America as Kilo Two Bravo, is a 2014 British War Film directed by Paul Katis, written by Tom Williams, and produced by Katis and Andrew de Lotbiniere. The plot is based on the true story of Mark Wright and of a small unit of British soldiers positioned near the Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
When I first saw this movie it was not on Netflix and was without sub-titles and I gotta be honest, even though these were British soldiers, and they were speaking English, I had no friggin’ ideal what was being said. The combination of the various English regional accents combined with the British military slang will definitely confuse the average person, so with that being said, be sure you turn on the English sub-titles!
It took me a while to get into this movie, not because it is bad per se, but because it is one of those war movies where the main plot revolves around a certain incident, in this case, an ambush on a small patrol. The first 20 minutes or so of the movie are you mainly getting to know the soldiers, and what life is like on a British forward operating base in Afghanistan.
I really enjoyed the banter between the soldiers, particularly where they were quoting the famous poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled “The Young British Soldier,” wrote some hundred odd years ago by Kipling when he was deployed in the same patch of dirt as these young lads. The poem is rather long, so I will just quote the last stanza, which is by far the best:
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, And the women come out to cut up what remains, Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Even if you have never been in the military, you will appreciate this movie. In part because it is a case study in the importance of having good comms during a tragedy and having good training in trauma Medicine. With the recent surge in terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, the need for the average martial civilian to have some type of Medical training in treating traumatic wounds such as gunshots, stabbings and shrapnel wounds from bombs is beginning to be more and more of a Practical Skill-set to have in your toolbox.
Overall this is a no holds barred, realistic, gritty look at War as seen through the eyes of a soldier. No media bias, no Political agenda, Just a true Story of War, plain and simple.
Definitely worth an hour and half of your time.
Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!