Afghan Luke

Hometown hero Mike Clattenburg bursts out of the Trailer Park in a major way with this film about the tragedy, comedy and madness of war. Based on the work of freelance reporter Patrick Graham, who also co-wrote the script, Afghan Luke follows a battlefield journalist (Nick Stahl) who returns to Afghanistan in search of more proof after his editors refuse to run his story about Canadian soldiers mutilating corpses. Joining him are a naive stoner colleague (Nicolas Wright) and a hardened-yet-funny local guide (Stephen Lobo). Clattenburg reveals himself to be a sure-handed dramatic storyteller and ensures that even the comic moments are thoughtful ones. Stahl, meanwhile, anchors the movie with his portrayal of a man whose notions of the truth, and the importance of telling it, are painfully challenged. –Matt Semansky