'Civil War', a commentary on a war and dystopian film that is not what it seems

@ElentirENG ES 4·23·2024 · 22:39 0

When deciding to go to the cinema to see a movie, I usually guide myself by its theme, its director and what I see in the advertisements.

'One Life', a film for times when history repeats itself
'The Fox' (Der Fuchs), an atypical film about an Austrian soldier in World War II

With "Civil War" I have had some doubts. The first is: is it worth seeing? And the second doubt that assailed me is: what is this film about? The production itself released images that suggest that It is a war and dystopian film, and indeed it is, but those who go to the cinema expecting to see a film in the style of "World War Z" will possibly be disappointed.

First of all, NOTICE: in the following paragraph I give some notes about the plot. If you want to go see the movie without knowing this, it's best to skip to the next paragraph.

After seeing some reviews, I decided to take a risk because, after all, the real theme of this film is war photojournalism (a topic that I really liked as a photography fan). The rest is a background landscape. Some complain saying that "Civil War" is confusing, that it does not explain why the United States has been divided in the near future and California and Texas have joined together to form "Western Forces", in addition to There is another separatist zone in Florida and some "Maoists" in Portland (Oregon), who are mentioned in passing. It is also not indicated what each side defends, and what reasons may have led a state with a Democratic majority like California to unite with a Republican bastion like Texas. The reality is that all this does not matter: the war we see in this film could have happened anywhere else and in any other way. What matters is the story of the protagonists, a group of journalists, what they are capable of doing for their work, how it affects them and, furthermore, the horrors they witness , horrors that occur in any war, but especially in civil wars.

That said, Kirsten Dunst is very good in the lead role, that of a veteran war photojournalist who has already seen it all, and who has her counterpoint in a young photographer, whose role she plays Cailee Spaeny, who little by little loses her innocence as the film progresses. More than a war film, "Civil War" is articulated as a "road movie", a film focused on a journey, in which war is a mere and terrifying scenario. However, it must be said that the film has very good action and combat scenes, especially in its final part.

It should be noted that the director, the British Alex Garland, was screenwriter in some films that I have loved, such as "28 Days Later" (2002), "Sunshine" (2007, one of my favorite films of science-fiction), "28 weeks later" (2007) and "Dredd" (2012, a film that I never tire of watching and it is a shame that it did not have a second part). In this film, Garland tells a great story very well that could serve as a reflection on the serious risks of endangering democratic coexistence with political extremism and separatist movements such as those that have been destabilizing the United States and other countries. Westerners for years. The film has excellent photography and a great soundtrack. I was expecting a rather average film and I was surprised to find an outstanding film. I recommend it to you.

Here you can see the trailer: