Review of The Deminer (2018) by Garry A — 03 Dec 2018

Colonel Fakhir Berwari (â~Crazy Fakhirâ(TM) to his American comrades) was a Kurdish military officer, serving in Iraq between 2003 and 2008, who was tasked with defusing thousands of land-mines left by insurgents after the fall of Saddam Hussein at the end of the second Iraqi war. Armed with a pair of wire-cutters and no safety equipment, he nonchalantly sets about the task of making the streets of Mosul safe again for children to play on. After losing a leg to a roadside bomb, he courageously volunteers to return and aid in the dismantling of booby-trapped houses left by ISIS after their occupation in the power vacuum that followed years later. An even more dangerous enterprise that would ultimately cost him his life.

What makes this an interesting documentary, is it is comprised primarily of footage shot by Fakhir himself - he tasked a subordinate to film him each time he defused a mine, to serve as a training device for fellow â~deminersâ(TM). The tapes were only found later on, by his son, and serve as the foundation for this documentary. Presented as home movie footage, there is no narration, just the commentary of his cameraman. This raw presentation really ratchets up the tension as there is no indication as to whether Fakhir will succeed each time he approaches a device. Indeed we witness two incidents that almost end his life on these tapes, and ultimately the device exploding that costs him his leg and his military career.

Later on, a professional documentary crew follow him on his voluntary return to the battlefield. Limping around on a false leg Fakhir is now tasked with making safe family homes in Mosul, that have been booby-trapped by fleeing ISIS fighters. The complexity here makes this endeavour even more perilous, with trip wires, pressure plates and other nefarious methods left for him to deal with, while also having to contend with overwork and his previous injury. His eventual demise is caught by the crew shadowing him. The only criticism I would have, is it is a rather opaque character study, in that the film doesnâ(TM)t make clear whether Fakhir is truly selflessly serving the public by making his city a safer place to live, or whether there is an element of thrill-seeking to it - his hometown residents have drawn their own conclusions though, and hang his picture in homes and businesses, in respect of his undeniably noble actions.