War Game
Jesse Moss & Tony Gerber / United States / 2024 / International Premiere / 94 min
A nerve-wracking political thriller where elite politicians and military personnel engage in a role-playing game based on January 6th. Is the democratic system strong enough to handle a real-life coup attempt in the near future?
Real politicians and military personnel of the highest rank are gathered to participate in a highly sophisticated role game. The goal is to stress-test whether the democratic institutions are strong enough to handle a crisis like the attack on Capitol Hill in a fictional but realistic situation where the army and police are infiltrated by insurgents. With the president (played by an experienced senator) at the helm, the team has six hours to navigate an increasingly critical conflict in real-time as intelligence of a coup d’état pours in from all parts of the country. Every choice they make has serious consequences. Even though you know it’s a game, it is impossible not to get sweaty palms from the immensely detailed and well-planned war game, which just a few years ago would have seemed like pure science fiction out of the bunker in ‘Dr Strangelove’, but in a fateful election year is a risk that democratic institutions from the army to the White House have to consider as a possible reality.