Thank You for Bombing

Thank You for Bombing (2015) was co-written and directed by Barbara Eder.

This film is about war correspondents traveling to, or already stationed in, Afghanistan. The movie consists of three separate powerful episodes. None of the episodes is related to the others, except that they all involve Afghanistan.

In the first episode, Erwin Steinhauer plays Ewald, a veteran war correspondent who is on his way to Afghanistan, but encounters someone from a different war.

Manon Kahle plays Lana, a brilliant and ambitious younger correspondent. She is onto the story of a lifetime, but immense obstacles loom in her way.

Raphael von Bargen portrays Cal, who is a freewheeling correspondent who doesn't like to be told what to do by anyone, including his editor.

I found the episode involving Lana to be the most compelling of the three. This is the episode that involves degradation. A few people left the theater during that scene. I respect that, and would never say that anyone should stay and watch something this ugly and frightening. On the other hand, assuming that you do stay, you'll see a dramatic denouement.

We saw Thank you for Bombing at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It was shown as part of Rochester's wonderful High Falls Film Festival: Celebrating Women in Film. The interpersonal interactions will work well on a small screen, although you'll miss out on the bleak, majestic scenery of Afghanistan. This film carries a dismal IMDb rating of 6.7. It's much better than that. Seek it out and see it if you can.