In 2006 Ramadi, a Navy SEAL platoon takes over an Iraqi family's house to watch the street, and their position is discovered. Co-directed by Garland and former SEAL Ray Mendoza, it rebuilds a real firefight from the memories of the men who were there. It runs in real time with no score. Watch how much the sound tells you that the pictures can't.
Warfare is a 2025 war, action and drama film directed by Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (2 narrative, 2 sound and 1 editing), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, 12 Angry Men uses several of the same techniques.
Confining the story to a single room, a single day or real time, so pressure builds without escape and the constraint shapes every scene.
How this film uses it
The film covers one encounter, start to finish, at the pace it happened. There is no cutting ahead to the rescue. When the platoon waits for evacuation, you wait with them, and the minutes feel long.
Where to see it
The wait after the first explosion. The SEALs drag their wounded back inside the house and keep asking for an evacuation that doesn't come.
Leaving out background music almost entirely, even in scenes that would normally have it. Wind, footsteps and a creaking door have to create the mood and emotion.
How this film uses it
Garland said adding music would have felt crass, so there is no composed score at all. Radio chatter, breathing and gunfire carry every scene. Nothing tells you how to feel, which leaves you alone with what's happening.
Where to see it
The opening. The platoon watches the music video for Eric Prydz's Call on Me and laughs, and after that the only sounds come from the house and the street.
Mixing battle sound the way a soldier would hear it, with chaotic, physical noise coming from every direction. Nothing is tidied up for your comfort, so you feel inside the fight.
How this film uses it
Sound designer Glenn Freemantle builds the battle out of real-feeling noise from every direction. After the IED blast, the sound goes dull and muffled, like your ears are full of water. You hear the fight the way the stunned soldiers do.
Where to see it
The IED blast. A bomb goes off as the platoon runs for the armored vehicle, and the sound drops into a deafened ringing while wounded men lie in the street.
Introducing a large cast only through what they say and do in the present. There are no flashbacks or explained histories, yet each character feels distinct.
How this film uses it
You learn almost nothing about these men's lives back home. They're defined by their jobs in the house: the radio operator, the sniper, the officer in charge. You know them by how they act under fire, which is exactly what the film cares about.
Where to see it
The overwatch. Elliott and Frank watch the market through their rifle scopes while Ray handles the radio, and the team settles into its roles.
Cutting real documentary or archive footage into a fictional story, such as authentic records of wartime atrocities. It grounds the fiction in history and blurs the line between cinema and the record.
How this film uses it
Before the credits, the film shows photos of the real SEALs on set with the actors who played them. Many faces are blurred for privacy. Garland said he wanted to remind you that this was a construction based on real people.
Where to see it
The ending photos. Pictures from the production show the real platoon members beside their actors, and the film is dedicated to Elliott Miller.
Questions
Warfare: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Warfare use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Warfare (2025): Unity of Place and Time, Absent Musical Score, Immersive Combat Sound Design, Ensemble Characterization Without Backstory and Documentary Footage Integration.
Who directed Warfare?
Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza directed Warfare, released in 2025. CineCode also covers Ex Machina (2014), Annihilation (2018), Men (2022), Civil War (2024).
What films are similar to Warfare?
Films that share techniques with Warfare include 12 Angry Men (1957), Come and See (1985), Civil War (2024), Black Hawk Down (2001).
