Ready for War (Andrew Renzi, 2019): USA

Reviewed by Jacob Baldwin at AFI fest 2019
Ready for War is the type of documentary that has the ability to make one angry, sad, and happy all while illustrating a very important issue. The premise of the film was shocking to me, because I had no idea that this problem exists, the problem of the US deporting veterans of the US military.
Many immigrants choose to join the US military because of the promise of US citizenship, however citizenship is not always guaranteed to some veterans. The film follows three US military veterans from different branches of the military, all with a common problem: deportation.
Each of the veterans displayed signs of mental illness or PTSD as a result of their service, and each of the veterans committed a crime that got them blacklisted by the US government. It is agreed by most Americans that not enough is done for veterans when they come back to civilian life, and for these veterans this problem is doubly horrible, as they are forced to leave the country they fought for.
The amount of problems this film shed lights on is overwhelming; veterans suffering from PTSD, veterans being deported away from their families, veterans being recruited into Mexican cartels- the list goes on.
A particularly scary and interesting portion of the film is spent following “El Vet”, a deported veteran who was immediately recruited into a drug cartel upon his deportation into Mexico. For “El Vet”, a man with a limited set of skills and mental trauma, there is no hope for a legitimate career in his future, and he has no choice but to work as a “trainer” for the cartel, teaching young members how to kill like a professional soldier. The gall of the filmmakers, who follow “El Vet” around the dark, crime ridden barrios of Mexico, was astounding.
The Cinematography of the film was effective, showing the beauty of Mexico as well as the danger. The lighting compounded with the cinematography was particularly effective. This was one of the more important documentaries of AFI fest, in my opinion. It is not a happy documentary, but it is important for Americans to see.