Only the Dead 2015

The documentary opens in February 2003, just before the American invasion of Iraq. Michael Ware, a war correspondent for Time magazine, travels to the northern front to cover the conflict, embedded with Kurdish fighters as mortar fire ripples through the landscape and the aftermath of a deadly suicide bombing is documented. After American forces seize Baghdad, Ware helps set up a Time bureau in the city and begins a deep, on‑the‑ground chronicle of what unfolds.

He records the aftermath of a car bombing involving a teenage boy and his brother, capturing the surviving brother’s anguished demand for accountability and his vow to “do something big.”

do something big.

Armed resistance movements across Baghdad come into focus as Ware broadcasts footage from the streets, offering a stark window into a city where loyalties blur and fear blends with resolve. The film continues with the graphic aftermath of the Jordanian embassy bombing and the Canal Hotel bombing, followed by a tense moment in which American troops detain a man suspected of planting an IED.

As the conflict intensifies, Ware acknowledges the need to understand the minds behind the frequent suicide attacks. Over time, he builds cautious relationships with insurgents who begin sharing their own recordings and invite him to clandestine gatherings. He enters their world with a measured, uneasy curiosity and documents events from within their circle, including an attack on a U.S. base outside Baghdad’s airport. He wrestles with guilt and fear, aware that night vision and other equipment could betray their location.

The insurgents publicly repudiate responsibility for the suicide bombings, instead pointing to the network of Abu Musab al‑Zarqawi. The international spotlight shifts when footage of Nick Berg’s execution surfaces and Zarqawi’s name becomes a global headline. Zarqawi himself starts delivering tapes to Ware at his hotel, containing attacks on American soldiers and a complete suicide bombing operation that traces from the pre‑attack ceremony to the blast near a checkpoint.

Ware moves to Haifa Street in Baghdad to film a child soldier and returns later after hearing that Zarqawi’s men have taken control of the area. His vehicle is halted, and he nearly faces execution, only spared by the negotiation of his insurgent escort.

With American troops during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Ware follows a harrowing assault in which a house is stormed and then ambushed. Sergeant David Bellavia enters the residence, and Ware documents the ensuing combat, the peril of close quarters, and Bellavia’s actions in hand‑to‑hand struggle. Bellavia’s subsequent Medal of Honor acknowledgement stands as a stark contrast to the chaos surrounding them.

Some insurgent contacts decide to “resign from the terror network,” and in a grim reversal they kill a Zarqawi operative they had been working with. They entrust Ware with a hard drive containing footage of a man executed for informant activities, as well as scenes of thieves punished by hanging and gunfire.

The journey takes Ware to Ramadi, where he embeds with an American unit and captures multiple firefights, including a devastating suicide bombing involving a dump truck aimed at an outpost. The narrative then turns to the aftermath of the 2006 al‑Askari mosque bombing, which Ware frames as an attempt to inflame sectarian tensions, and it culminates with the airstrike that kills Zarqawi.

In April 2007, Ware is embedded south of Baqubah as another engagement unfolds. An insurgent is fatally wounded, brought back to a U.S. courtyard, and, as magazines are found in his pockets and a locals claims he worked for Al‑Qaeda, Ware records the quiet, morally challenging moment as the man dies. The film closes with Ware reflecting on how the conflict changed him, admitting that he had become a person he never believed he would become.

The documentary offers a stark, unflinching look at a war that reshaped its participants—journalist and civilian alike—through years of fear, courage, and humanity under fire.