Sand Castle 2017

At the outset of the 2003 Iraq War, Pvt. Matt Ocre, a young civil affairs soldier in the Army Reserves, desperately slams his hand in a Humvee door in hopes of being sent back home. Through narration, we learn that he enlisted in July 2001 for college funds. However, his scheme fails, leaving him with a cast on his arm until it is finally removed just in time for deployment to Baghdad. During combat, Ocre spots a sniper, leading to Sergeant Dylan Chutsky calling for a helicopter strike that obliterates the sniper’s location.

As the story progresses, we see that Ocre’s unit has the mission of fixing a malfunctioning water system in the perilous village of Baqubah. Upon arrival, they meet with a Special Forces team led by Cpt. Syverson, who introduces their interpreter and outlines the plan to transport water from a pump station daily. At the station, Army engineers indicate that repairs will take several weeks, but they can expedite progress if the locals pitch in. They inform the villagers that they will pay for labor, yet when the next morning rolls around, no locals show up to help. With no volunteers available, the soldiers are compelled to assist the engineers themselves.

On one of their return trips, they encounter a vehicle racing toward them. After stopping and questioning the driver, they discover he is rushing his young daughter to a nearby village for medicine. Later, during another journey, the squad comes under fire from several insurgents, which leads to chaos and tension as they scramble to protect themselves.

As events unfold, they finally obtain support from Kadeer, the local school administrator, played by Navid Negahban, who is in dire need of water to keep the school operational. This partnership results in improved progress at the pump station. Yet, one fateful morning, when none of the Iraqi workers appear, the team returns to the village to discover Kadeer’s body, gruesomely burned and tied to a stake in the schoolyard. Kadeer’s brother, Arif, informs Syverson of where the insurgents meet, prompting a swift plan to launch a night attack.

The operation proves successful, resulting in several enemy casualties and captures, but it comes at a cost: Cpl. Enzo and Sgt. Burton sustain injuries that necessitate helicopter evacuation. Work resumes on the pump station with Arif rallying a crew of local laborers. However, tragedy strikes again when an IED, planted by a worker in a suicide bombing, detonates at the station, resulting in the destruction of their efforts and multiple fatalities among both Americans and Iraqis.

Eventually, Ocre and Harper return to their base in Baghdad. Harper gets a three-week leave, while Ocre learns he is due to go home. Although he protests, his wishes are overridden. As the day unfolds, he is escorted to the airfield by Harper and Sgm. MacGregor (played by Tommy Flanagan). After a brief exchange about the day ahead, he boards the plane, leaving behind the chaos of war.