Casualty of War [DVD]

Released in the US as `Purple Heart' but `Casualty of War' in the UK, this is a film from writer and director Bill Birrell and is a strange one to categorize. It starts out by saying it is set in Iraq in 2003, before the US led invasion and a marine sniper has been caught by Saddam Hussein's army and is being tortured. We then move back to the present where Sergeant Oscar Padilla (Demetrius Navarro) is now being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD in a secure psychiatric hospital. He was apparently rescued and this is not a plot spoiler as this is all upfront.He then goes AWOL and a shadowy Colonel Allen (William Sadler) is ordered to make the problem go away. The fear is that Oscar is going to track down the people that turned him into this lethal killing machine and as such he will become an embarrassment to the secret sniper programme.We are given the life of Oscar in flash back and it reads like a country and western cliché with a dead brother included. Despite wanting to be a doctor his single parent mom cant afford college fees and so he decides to join the Marines instead.This is a low budget movie that can not escape the confines of its budget restrictions. Boot camp was a bit lamentable and some of the acting is patchy at best, but Sadler gives reasonable value for money in a solid performance. The music is not great, reminding me of bad TV cop material at one point.This is a well intentioned film, but that is not always enough and the twists are only a surprise if you have a short attention span. There is a bit of politicising and even more moralistic hand wringing, but despite the faults it does hold together reasonably well, but it really is only just three stars. If you are looking for a war film, this is not for you, if you like a bit of claustrophobic mind games then you may well enjoy.

a good film to watch