"The Kill Team" was an earnest film drawing upon the essential structure of Joseph Conrad's famous novel "Heart of Darkness." Francis Ford Coppola drew upon Conrad for the epic "Apocalypse Now!" as an allegory of the War in Vietnam. "The Kill Team" is a much more modest version applied to the war in Afghanistan.
The crazed military figure of Col. Kurtz from Conrad was the basis for the demented Sergeant Deeks, who is able to brainwash nearly every member of his small brigade for atrocities committed against civilians in Afghanistan.
In his twisted mind, Deeks likely saw himself as a patriot. He called himself a "warrior" and tried to inculcate that vision in a group of young men. It was only Andrew "Briggsy" Briggman, who resisted and ultimately blew the whistle on Deeks.
The minimalist approach to the filming with barren deserts and unpopulated villages did not quite work in the film. In the recent film "The Covenant" there was a much more detailed evocation of the environment that was the basis for "door-to-door" searches for the American invading force.
Still, the film succeeded in its intensity and the believability of the rogue band led by the sergeant who can only be described as evil. The film is a testament to an utterly futile war that lasted for two decades and accomplished nothing.
The crazed military figure of Col. Kurtz from Conrad was the basis for the demented Sergeant Deeks, who is able to brainwash nearly every member of his small brigade for atrocities committed against civilians in Afghanistan.
In his twisted mind, Deeks likely saw himself as a patriot. He called himself a "warrior" and tried to inculcate that vision in a group of young men. It was only Andrew "Briggsy" Briggman, who resisted and ultimately blew the whistle on Deeks.
The minimalist approach to the filming with barren deserts and unpopulated villages did not quite work in the film. In the recent film "The Covenant" there was a much more detailed evocation of the environment that was the basis for "door-to-door" searches for the American invading force.
Still, the film succeeded in its intensity and the believability of the rogue band led by the sergeant who can only be described as evil. The film is a testament to an utterly futile war that lasted for two decades and accomplished nothing.