“In 2021, The United States withdrew its military forces from a 20 year war in Afghanistan leaving many American citizens trapped inside its borders.” Filmmaker Quote ad lead in to the showing.
Filmmakers have released films about the USA withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some are documentaries that show the exit and the horrendous task it was to move an incredible amount of people, including USA citizens from the country. One war drama, Warhorse One, although fictional, deals with unforeseen innocent people caught up in the conflict.
A call comes in to military headquarters that three United States citizens are trapped in Afghanistan. The family of four, a US missionary and his wife, and two children, need to be rescued. A military helicopter is sent to a location where the family had last contact with central base command. On the way to the site, the chopper gets shot down by enemy fire with only Navy Seal Master Chief Richard Mirko “Warhorse One” (Johnny Strong) surviving.
Hurt, but not enough to stop him from continuing his mission, Johnny arrives in site of the family. But catastrophe has struck the family leaving only their 5-year-old daughter Zoe Walters (Athena Durner) still alive. Thus begins a dangerous trek for the Seal and Athena in the treacherous mountainous country with the Afghan Insurgents closing in on them.
Warhorse One has very exciting war related scenes and the rescue attempt does get testy at times due to the age of the youthful character. The use of some excellent locations, cinematography and cast of characters does provide a good background for the story telling by Johnny Strong and William Kaufman. The fine acting by both Strong and Walters take up a lot of screen time with many script situations that put them in near peril.
Mike Fury: (interview with Johnny Strong) while “Warhorse One” is a fictional film, there’s echoes of present day conflict, as opposed to a historical story. Can you talk about that?
Johnny Strong: (Reply) “The story centers on a missionary family in Afghanistan [during the American withdraw of 2021] and they become trapped, although they had been helping Afghan national interpreters out of the country. The family is decimated in an attack by insurgents, and this five-year-old girl is the only survivor. That’s f_ _ _ing real and it’s devastating, and it’s happening right now. I wanted the film to be a reminder that, despite the higher echelons of power and war, it is the people, and specifically the children on all sides, who endure the true suffering of war. In the film, my character, Mirko, will find and protect her. As much as films can be entertainment and take you on a journey, I wanted it to be a reminder of what we turn a blind eye to in the news. When I was writing the film, I also paid close attention to the hero’s journey of mythology to really make the story resonate and test our hero throughout his ordeal.” Interview by Mike Fury @mikefury.net
Warhorse One has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and some language. There is also some peril and a suggestive sexual moment so be aware of this when wanting to allow immature children see the film. For the target audience I give the film 4 out of 5 stars.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Johnny Strong, Athena Durner, Raj Kala, James Sherrill, Siya Rostami, Michael Sauers, Todd Jenkins
Directed and written by: Johnny Strong, William Kaufman
Genre: Action, War
MPAA Rating: R for violence and some language
Running Time: 2 hrs.
Opening Date: July 4, 2023
Distributed by: Well Go USA Entertainment
Released in: Digital, Select Theaters on June 20
