There have been a string of really solid war documentaries over the past few years, most of which have been extremely depressing and director Dan Krauss is ready to add to that list of depressing feature docs with The Kill Team.
The film focuses on a US Army Infantry platoon who the media branded “The Kill Team” in 2010 after reports of the soldiers killing Afghan citizens for sport came to light. Told from the perspective of four of the implicated soldiers, Krauss examines how these patriots started killing for fun and what lead to the allegedly innocent Private Adam Winfield blowing the whistle on the events that transpired around him in Afghanistan.
What I found the most interesting about the documentary was how honest the soldiers were about the whole situation. They spoke freely about how when they signed up to join the army, they thought they would be going to war; instead the firefights were scarce, they weren’t allowed to engage unless they were engaged first (which causes deaths), and they spent more time helping the Afghans build wells, schools and such that it felt more like community service. When their commander had left and Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs came in, everything changed as he was a flawed model infantryman willing to do what he wanted.
Due to boredom and the prospect of being able to go home with some kills, the soldiers jumped onboard Gibbs’ kill train and got involved with these staged killings but Private Adam Winfield didn’t want to get involved, he joined the army as a patriot and to help people, and was ashamed that the army had let him down when these killings began. Due to his reluctant nature, people started to threaten to kill him and he knew they meant it. Basically, if he spoke, he would die. Much of the film focuses on this particular soldier and his family as he tries to decide if he should tell and who could actually help him (which started months before the platoon was caught).
Much like the Oscar nominated The Invisible War, The Kill Team focuses on the military and how flawed their system of government is with regards to supporting their own soldiers. When bad things happen to good people or those who try to do the right thing, it seems as if the army tries to bury them as far as possible and they do so pretty successfully. It saddens me as a citizen to see things like this happen especially when we see Adam’s parents and the emotional weight hanging from their necks as they can’t do anything for their son who is now being grouped with and brought up on charges with the soldiers who did kill even though he didn’t willingly participate and tried to tell people beforehand. It appears there is no logical empathy in the court system when PR disasters like this happen. What sucks is that while on the streets or in any other area of life, no one likes a snitch but the difference between a snitch in a corporate setting versus one in Afghanistan is that the guys you are snitching on have guns, know how to use them and have the perfect cover for taking you out…war. It is this concept that makes it difficult for me to believe the military could bring Private Winfield up on charges despite the evidence he had to back him up.
As for the storytelling, I personally found it to be rather flat no matter how intriguing it actually was. There
were a few intense moments due to the footage and the pictures that were shown of some of the people that were killer/murdered, but for the most part I found that the film lacked an emotional connection. There was no click, no identifying engrossing moment that made me want to act. Instead I got frustrated and felt a sense of hopelessness knowing that this happens more than it is depicted, that the military doesn’t take much accountability, and that something even more drastic has to happen before they get their act together. I’m not saying there aren’t good, honest people in the military, I just think the system is very flawed and isn’t conducive to helping its members to do the right thing.
Throughout the film it’s emphasized by the various subjects that war is dirty, it isn’t like the movies, and instead it’s just a bunch of guys with guns. This story proves that not everyone is a patriot and that even in the calmest of wars, people do stupid things and for those that don’t want to be involved, it’s nearly impossible not to get caught up in the trouble. Though not the best war doc I’ve seen lately, the message is clear and it isn’t an anti-military one from the filmmaker, it’s an expectations/boredom one versus “this system is flawed” message coming straight from those who served.
Rating: Another disturbing look at the troubles of war and the military, but a look that isn’t as compelling as it could be (6/10)
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