The Mark of Cain (2008)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Load of rubbish!!

How sad is this?

good back-story, and good acting

As a 2 tour Iraq vet, I was taken to this movie as a birthday outing and didn't realize the "plot" was supposed to be an Iraqi war commentary.It's difficult to know where to start unwinding this tangled yarn of agenda, malfeasance, and outright lies, but the theater didn't keep our money that evening. We WALKED OUT after about 1/2 hour of watching this drivel, and demanded our money back. (Which they most-assuredly were willing to return to us) If you think lying to the American people is bad, this movie was obviously made for FOREIGN CONSUMPTION, so that the miserable wretches who conspired to make and distribute this pile of of crap, could make money SELLING OUT America AND KILLING American BOYS.And if you don't think this kind of garbage winds up killing Americans, you really ought to read some history and (gasp) maybe even serve your country in patriotism.

This isn't a war film per se, but rather a film about the conflict between loyalty and morality. The question is where do you draw the line between loyalty to the regiment and the morality of your actions? This film is powerful stuff but I can't help but feel that this film is somehow unrepresentative of the British Army in Iraq. I have to say that it has left a rather foul taste in my mouth, but this may well be down to my refusal to think about the examples of brutality in custody that have taken place rather than the film's depiction of those crimes. So in regards to the effectiveness of the film at portraying its subject the film is most effective. The acting is strong throughout as is the cinematography and the sparse soundtrack. I won't watch it again as I have nothing further to gain from it. I think, in retrospect that it is still too recent an event to gain any further wisdom from. Although it is not 'based on true events' there have been instances of abuse that have culminated in criminal cases. But would we gain anything from watching a feature film about the abuses at Abu Grahib only three years after the events?

Although Mark of Cain isn't a bad movie, and most of the acting is in fact pretty good, it seems to be lacking a clear purpose. For a movie that aims to make a political statement, it seems to pull its punches at the most crucial moments. As a movie that wants to tell a story about a modern war, although realistic and often gritty, it is not nearly as powerful as Platoon or as intricate as Jarhead. In fact, the power of the story seems to peter out after the first two-thirds of the movie. For example, the technique of starting with a crucial scene, and then flashing back to this scene as the story unfolds, becomes less powerful. Eventually, the viewer pretty well knows what to expect. Watch Mark of Cain, expect some poignant scenes, but don't expect any new insights in that fiasco known as Iraq and don't expect to see war's truly horrific face.

Alright . I have just finished watching the movie, and I am glad we finally got something showing the real thing of whats going on in Iraq. Can I say the movie is real ? No, because in fact its showing the tiniest part of reality; as Iraqis are not only tortured as the movie shows, they are killed tens of times while they're alive, not to mention the crimes of chastity, which Muslims protect most, through the liberation troops' sexual assaults of Iraqi girls, particularly before their fathers or brothers, or husbands. One thing is important, and the movie suffers because of it, is not having subtitles. Indeed British English is hardly understandably, and the more important is the Arabic spoken by locals, as the Arabic speeches during the movie are very important to understand what is going on, and basically, you would not recognize how much the locals involved in the movie's plot suffer, unless you understand what is said by them. Thanx for the creators .. of course a very good movie , fair and just