Sometime last year, the term “Iraq fatigue” was coined to describe the unwillingness of festival audiences and box office patrons to engage with the glut of Iraq documentaries being made. I would call Full Battle Rattle a post-fatigue film.
Rather than focus on the battle field, the administration’s failed policies, or the diplomatic fallout of illegal rendition and torture, the film examines a model Iraqi town in the Mojave desert used to train troops before deployment. By looking at a simulation of the violence and political strife, directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss are able to engage subjects that would otherwise be too politically divisive to find an audience on both sides of the political divide. The film is a surprising mix of what could be read as surreal and biting commentary on the American war machine on the one hand, and a loving portrait of honorable soldiers on the other.
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