Ready for War (Andrew Renzi, 2019): USA

Reviewed by Ian Overton. Viewed at the AFI Film Festival 2019.

Andrew Renzi’s Ready for War, tells the compelling story of three US vets deported back to Mexico and their individual journeys. Sacrifice, hope, and bravery are all integral aspects of the movie as it shows American heroes disenfranchised by the system. While a critique on the system as a whole for placing these soldiers in their current predicament, the movie still pushes a message of hope and nationalism. The latter being something I had my own gripes with in the context of the film, however, the message and the story remains something of great significance especially under our present circumstances. 

Viewed at the Chinese Theater at the AFI Movie Festival 2019, Andrew Renzi breaks from narrative fictions like his previous film The Benefactor, and has delivered something true to life. The story of Miguel Perez, being something of intense media scrutiny, is nothing short of tragic and the same can be said of Hector Barajas who spent 13 years in Mexico fighting to come home. 

The film opens with bewildering images of cartel workers concocting drugs all the while sporting US Air-force hats. This then transitions to an interview with a cartel member nicknamed “El Vet,” given his previous military training. Contrasted with the shelter for vets built by Hector Barajas, this dual world view offers an interesting glimpse into the choices forced upon vets when going to Mexico. Many of them are put into a situation where their only options are “plato o plomo,” money or lead. These scenarios serve to dig deep into the empathy of US viewers as these patriots were not only willing to fight and die for their country, but their deportation has put them in a situation where actively working against it is their only option. Somewhat fortunately this isn’t the only scenario that exists as can be seen with Hector Barajas but his situation begs a whole different question. How to keep hope? How to still find love and patriotism for a flawed system, a system which ate him up and spat him out. 

Through interview documentary style format, Ready for War delivers with juxtaposed shots of flags and guns along with shaky iPhone footage of cartel horrors. The man behind the camera, Jeff Louis Peterman (A Taste of Sky) creates a dramatic atmosphere through the use of close up shots and remaining steady in the most emotional of moments. This, in conjunction with the heartbreaking interviews of both Perez and Barajas, along with chilling torture videos commandeered by “El Vet,” deliver the brutal truth of the matter.

Retaining cartel documentary like those in Cartel Land (Mathew Heineman), Ready for War doesn’t break too many barriers within the genre. It undoubtedly tells a story that’s remained in the wayside of the media and political arena for far too long yet it never tries to break convention. This makes for a fascinating yet at times unoriginal film.  

Ready for War tackles a very under the radar subject and does an excellent job doing so. While at times being a cliche cartel documentary, the film makes up for this in it’s humanity. These aren’t all blood sucking gangsters with no value for human life. These are people who just want to go home, see their family, and live as Americans.