A critically acclaimed war movie is arriving in New Zealand cinemas this coming week, and it's a work of fiction that feels unsettlingly real.
It's called Civil War and it's set in the US, just a few years from now.
Military insurgents fighting against government military forces - state against state, neighbour against neighbour.
The United States has descended into war-torn chaos in Civil War.
We, the audience, are embedded within a tight crew of reporters.
We see what they see, through the lens of a seasoned war photographer - a young blood seeing the horrors of warfare for the first time - and two battle-hardened war journalists hunting the biggest story of the conflict, and their lives.
From the acclaimed filmmaker behind sci-fi films Ex Machina and Annihilation, Alex Garland writes and directs yet another confronting compelling story.
It's made for the biggest screen with the best sound you can find.
This is the power of the big screen cinematic experience - when you feel you're in the story not just watching it.
Civil War wields that power with such unflinching authenticity and precision it's breathtaking, as Garland delivers a film so urgent and prescient that you're left shell-shocked.
Brace yourself.
Five stars.
