Despite its preaching and relative lack of balance, BATTLEGROUND: 21 DAYS ON THE EMPIRE'S EDGE ranks as one of the best post-war Iraq documentaries.With crisp footage and unfiltered comments from Iraqis and the soldiers occupying their country, it offers an intriguing close-up look at the immediate aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion. We hear accusations of abuse from tribal leaders, hypothesizing servicemen and many of the familiar allegations against the true nature of the conflict. We tour sprawling army bases and neighborhoods left devastated. Binding it all together is a long-awaited trip home by Farhan al Bayati, an Iraqi forced to flee years earlier or face the wrath of Saddam Hussein. Farhan's return is certainly compelling and gives the audience a unique perspective into the situation.But for all its assets, one should not consider BATTLEGROUND the unbiased portrait its creators appear to claim it to be. Indeed the synopsis of the film on the official website of its distributer, Guerrilla News Network, makes mention of this "Middle Eastern quagmire." The decision that this is a quagmire has already been made by the producers, and it shows in their production. That's too bad, because documentaries like this work best without an agenda.

This documentary features monologues and 'as-they-happen' scenes from Iraq. Particularly poignant stories and images of an Iraqi ex-patriot returning home to his family after several years in the USA; a few U.S. officers who are more honest and better informed about Iraq than the U.S. executive branch, and Iraqis who present opinions about the war that are far removed from anything the U.S. "free press" has been exposing American citizens to. Despite all of this excellent material, the film does not hold together very well as a film experience. It is an intelligent and journalistic but highly manipulative and modernistic documentary - powerful, but lacking some of the depth which characterizes more reflexive efforts.The director seems to be attempting to play the role of the Wizard of Oz - manipulating the the themes from behind the editing room curtain, but clearly wants you to believe or understand something about Iraq after you've seen the film. In this regard, the film does succeed - any thinking person will walk away from this enlightened - to an extent. My objection - and it is a small one - is that it is entirely unclear to me, after seeing this film, where the director stands and how much direction was used to produce what we see in the film. The selection of scenes and the exceptional clarity and eloquence of the monologues strongly suggests that a great deal of editing has taken place - but what were the criteria for selection of scenes, participants, etc? How much coaching and scripting occurred? Despite his limitations and obnoxious personality, at least Michael Moore lets you know that what you are about to see is his view, spun in his unique and quite biased direction.One of the best aspects of this film is that it does not insult the intelligence of "the American People" in the way we have become accustomed to being insulted by our present administration, nor does it, in any way, insult the intelligence of our military. The military personnel who participate in this film apparently understand what they are in Iraq to do much better than some of our leaders do. Or perhaps they are simply much more honest about it.

This film is a very small snapshot of the Iraq in late 2003 and reflects that moment in time. My opinion is that this film is very pro-US and makes the military effort look good.It is surprising to see this film shown at left-wing fund raisers since it is a great US Army recruiting film. It made me proud to be an Army veteran.It does not show the Iraqi forces engaged against the insurgents since the Iraqi forces were not as numerous as they are now.There is an African American Sergeant Tank Commander who gives a long and very organized monologue about why the US needs to be involved in Iraq. He is more eloquent than any Secretary of State or college professor.There is an Egyptian businessman who debates an Iraqi translator about the US intentions. He comes at it with a world view and she just sees greedy motivation.The only thing wrong in my opinion is the emphasis on "Depleted Uranium" munitions. These have been extensively studied and are not any worse than any of the other stuff on the battlefield. The lead from regular ammunition is also poisonous and the radiation from the depleted uranium is only seventy percent of the naturally occurring uranium found in the earth's crust. (Anyone interested is referred to the Federation of American Scientists web page.) The constant cigarette smoking is much more of a threat. At one point the radiation meter is clicking loudly but only reads 2 mR/hr. It would take 150 hours of direct contact with the metal to get the same exposure as one mammogram. These mammograms are recommended yearly for all women over fifty. There is probably much more of a radiation hazard from Saddam's old production sites.A very enjoyable movie with excellent sound and video editing to make it move nicely.

I was hoping to see some fairness in this film. By fairness, I mean that the film would offer at least some representation of the entire circumstance of the war in Iraq. However, this film depicted an entirely negative view and joins the majority of mass media in an agenda of political commentary (with some nice digs at globalization just in case their audience forgot that globalization - read: the USA - kills trees and hurts kittens). This commentary must, by definition, be anti-American regardless of circumstance and in that it loses it's credibility. The producers used the crowds to pursue that agenda. These crowds of people would act however they were supposed to act in front of any camera depending on what expectations were set; I say this with all due respect for a people whose country is being occupied by a foreign army. The purpose of this war may be lost to all but history but this movie is simply too awash in blue paint to be taken seriously by any other than the politically aligned. Nice timing on the Roman Empire connection!