*A covenant is a bond made between two people who work together to reach a common goal, and that goal for Sergeant John Kinley and interpreter Ahmed was to return home to their families safely.
In the film properly titled “The Covenant,“ a group of US soldiers in Afghanistan must rely on interpreters to translate for them while they are in search of destroying bomb centers made by the Taliban.
Natives working with the US was a sign of a traitor and an extremely dangerous job for those who decided to work with American soldiers.
Ahmed, played by Dar Salim, decided to take that risk. He wasn’t welcomed with open arms by Sgt. John Kinley, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Sgt. Kinley was skeptical of Ahmed as he was new to their team after their original interpreter was killed.
That skepticism didn’t last long when Sgt. Kinley realized Ahmed had a keen intuition that he could trust.
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Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The trust between the two men developed even more after they were the only survivors of an encounter with the Taliban. Alone in a desert in enemy territory is not a place you want to find yourself. Both Sgt. Kinley and Amhed had to work and fight together to survive and make it to US territory. During one scene the two had a moment of nonverbal communication where one knew what the other was planning to do next. The bond and vulnerability between these two came across as so organically on screen due to director Guy Ritchie. Ritchie has an approach to seeing what magic can happen with actors when they aren’t attached to the script.
We spoke with Gyllenhaal and Salim about this style of directing and how it helped them rely on each other more during filming.
“We brought ourselves to the role, we brought our relationship, that we built, to the role. As opposed to fitting into an idea,” said Gyllenhaal. Again their ability to trust one another exudes through the relationship between these characters. Ahmed puts his life on the line to solely get them to safety after Sgt. Kinley is injured. Once the Sgt. returns home he learns Ahmed is living in hiding from the Taliban and desperately needs to escape. Eager to return the loyalty Ahmed displayed. Sgt. Kinley heads back to Afghanistan to rescue Ahmed and his family with no help from the US military. Once again placing himself in enemy territory.
Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“When I first saw it. It made me cry because I think it shows us what we can be. And what we are, and what we have inside of us,” said Gyllenhaal about his reaction to the film.
Watching the journey these two men encountered and the bond they built because of it, will provoke an emotional response from viewers as well.
“The Covenant” is in theaters this Friday, April 21st.
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