Deborah Scranton’s The War Tapes offers a look a 21st century combat through the eyes and cameras of soldiers on the front lines in Iraq. Refreshingly human and accessible, the documentary cuts through the usual partisan bluster of “Support Our Troops,” and finds that our men and women on the ground are often some of the most skeptical critics of the way the war is being run.

Scranton’s narrative follows three National Guardsmen, Steven Pink, Michael Moriarty, and Zach Bazzi, through their tour of duty at Camp Anaconda, one of the most heavily attacked bases at the time in Iraq. The characterological approach used by this film follows each of the soldiers from their preparations for war in the States, to Iraq, and back again. As events progress, it becomes increasingly clear: the war exacts a horrible human toll, not just in casualties, but in psychological and physical disfiguration of the soldiers and their loved ones waiting back home.

A main emphasis of the movie is the stark dichotomy between the war as it is being reported by the talking heads back home, and the conditions on the ground that they deal with everyday. This point is driven home with regular cut-ins of news clips from the American media, strategically placed between shots that emphasize the continued horror. As Tom Brokaw tells the American people that a new constitution is in place in Iraq, paving the way towards the future, the soldiers face imminent destruction from IEDs. The clips are fuzzy, emphasizing how far away the media is from the reality in Iraq. One soldier even goes so far as to say that he hates the media, and doesn’t trust them.

The film makes a point to showcase the confusion and unfamiliarity of the new 21st century warfare, where our enemies and the people we are trying to protect are indistinguishable. Since the cameras are carried with the soldiers at all times, this fact comes through with painful clarity, as too many of the routine missions that they film are rocked by gruesome car bomb blasts, and seemingly empty Fallujah is suddenly lethal when gunfire rings out from an unknown location. The use of night vision and thermal imaging cameras are particularly effective here, emphasizing that the best information available is often of no help whatsoever. Pink is chastised for filming the bodies of the enemy and saying “ a few choice words” about them; he laments his lack of training for a mission where respecting the enemy is a virtue. Even the enlightened Buzzi, who can converse with the local citizenry in his native Arabic, speaks in hushed tones about the difficulty of telling just who is likely to shoot and who are the innocent civilians, and the challenge of respecting the principles of a culture while first protecting your fellow soldiers. “Let them have their own civil war,” one states.

Beyond the difficulties of cutting-edge conflict, the film pulls no punches in advertising the futility and grotesque nature of war in general. The soldiers, in an almost Real World-like confessional mode, express their hope, but not their conviction, that in 20 years Iraq will be a better country because of the current U.S. presence there. The cameras catch soldiers debating what entrails most closely resemble, waxing philosophical on the racial slurs they use to help dehumanize the Iraqis that they are fighting, exclaiming in frustration that we should just nuke ‘em all. On the lofty ideals of making the world a safer place by stabilizing Iraq, a solider suggests, “After that, maybe we can buy everyone a puppy.”

The profit drive of the war machine is another focal point of the documentary. A typical mission has the soldiers escorting convoys of Halliburton trucks back and forth, then handing their money over to Halliburton as they visit the shops and Burger Kings that the company has a monopoly over. The soldiers are constantly complaining about the futility of guarding a truck filled with cheesecake. Pink, in a moment of extraordinary honesty, remarks that he knows that the only reason the U.S. is in Iraq is for money and oil, and that in his view, “We had better get it, or everyone who died over there will have died in vain.” There is a palpable sense of frustration felt from the soldiers at putting their high ideals at the mercy of a company’s bottom line.

The impact of death on the soldiers, and their continuing search for humanity in the most inhumane of circumstances is another true highlight of the work. A Humvee collision with a pedestrian evokes a heart wrenching response from the soldiers, and a trip through the equipment graveyard evokes the horrors of days past. However, the soldiers are also nothing if not playful, making snow angels before departure and constantly making fun of one another in down time. They are real people, some who joined for patriotism, some for love of travel, some for money, and some for honor. They miss their wives, mothers, girlfriends, and children back home, who are effectively depicted by the film struggling to understand the soldiers’ reasons for leaving. They want to be heroes, but find it hard to avoid the unmistakable sense of dread at the possibility of being blown up at any given moment. Scranton’s use of National Guardsmen is an excellent choice for getting this point across; as citizen soldiers, they make it abundantly clear that the line between them and us is razor thin.

The movie’s ending follows the men to the conclusion of their story arc: their reintroduction into civilian society. While it could be argued that this section lingers too long, it further serves to reinforce the theme of the movie: the cost of the war that is not reflected in casualties. The men at home are changed, more on edge, more guarded, and their significant others note the difference. They also bring home lasting disabilities, and the hopelessness that comes with knowing that they could be deployed back to Iraq soon. Indeed, if any criticism can be leveled at this movie, it is that is it almost too easy from a conceptual perspective: of course the soldiers are human; of course the war is going to leave the soldiers nearly unrecognizable to those who love them. However, because of its nearly flawless execution, this film deserves its critical acclaim.