The Patrol (2013)

In 2006 the UK Minster of Defence announced the deployment of British Troops to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, saying: 'We would be happy to leave Afghanistan without firing a single shot'. 'The Patrol' features a British Army Operational Mentor and Liaison Team supporting this NATO led operation. As the scale of the Taliban insurgency dawns on the soldiers, problems with their operation cause the men to question their role in the war.

This is a triumph of British cinema, giving an account of a war which has come to embody the West's reaction to terrorism. An army patrol with no understanding of their mission, overcome by the futility of their orders and betrayed by their politicians - an embodiment not just of our forces' presence in Afghanistan but of the nation as a whole. An ever constant threat, an enemy never seen, and the boredom of military life - this is a tough act to pull off in cinema and retain the audience, but The Patrol succeeds by virtue of its honest approach. We empathise with the individual cast members and this makes the conclusion all the more gut wrenching. Any war film which doesn't follow the "gung ho" line will have its detractors, especially when depicting current conflicts with such brutal honesty. The Patrol deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.

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