ReviewFilm review: Kilo Two Bravo is a nerve-shredding war drama set in an Afghan minefield
Cast of unknowns and tightly edited script rachet up the tension as story flips from the tedium of army life to stomach-turning carnage
4 stars
Based on a harrowing true story and retold with unflinching poise and skill, Kilo Two Bravo tells the nerve-shredding tale of a unit of British soldiers in Afghanistan who unwittingly wandered into a long-forgotten minefield.
Brutal and banal in equal measure, Paul Katis’ debut feature lulls its audience into a false sense of security, documenting the day-to-day tedium of army life at a remote checkpoint in Helmand Province. The men make small talk, tease and jibe each other, while throwing out applaudably random references to the likes of Coronation Street. And then the violence begins.
Looking for a short cut between two hills, a three-man patrol ducks into a dried-up riverbed, only for one to step on an anti-personnel mine. As the others move in to help, more mines go off and the scene quickly descends into stomach-turning carnage.