Second Skin, reviewed here last week, is a documentary about MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Full Battle Rattle is also about a kind of MMORPG: let’s call it a Massively Multiplayer Outdoor Role Playing Game. The film documents the U.S. Army’s Iraq Simulation in the Mojave Desert of California, a gigantic make-believe war designed to prepare soldiers for the real one.
Yes, it’s yet another Iraq documentary, but just when you think every possible angle of the war has been covered, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber have infiltrated a new one. The army has set up a massive simulation in the desert, consisting of thirteen villages populated largely by Iraqi-Americans. Full Battle Rattle tracks one battalion as it attempts to keep the peace in the town of Medina Wasl.
The simulation may not have the special effects budget of a Hollywood blockbuster, but it is surprisingly comprehensive if not always executed to perfection. One of the participants likens the whole production to a big reality show, and he’s not far off – particularly when you think of the sort of “reality” shows that clearly have scripted elements and pre-ordained conclusions. While the soldiers preparing to ship out are given a taste of what to expect, recently returned servicemen are cast as Iraqi insurgents. The actual Iraqis are given roles to play as well, such as the politically ambitious deputy mayor whose storyline (like all the others) is worked out by a team of on-site writers.
Fake wounds, mannequin corpses and mock executions are all utilized to heighten the reality. It all adds up to a somewhat surreal experience, particularly for one soldier who has already done two tours of duty in Iraq and is gearing up for a third. He admits to having ill will towards the Iraqis in the simulation for a few days after returning, and his hard feelings intensify as his deployment nears.
For the most part, Moss and Gerber aren’t interested in editorializing; if you want to draw any conclusions about the ethical implications of treating war as a game, you’re free to do so, but the documentary is generally observational in style. Often you hear about a potential fictionalized feature version of a good documentary and it rarely sounds like a good idea, but in the right hands Full Battle Rattle would be an excellent candidate for such treatment. As it is, it’s a standout in an increasingly crowded field.
