Hyena Road (2015)
Hyena Road is a 2015 Canadian war drama film written, directed by and starring Paul Gross. It was shown in the Gala Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was shown on 24 September 2015, at the Calgary Film Festival, before a general release on 9 October. It won three Canadian Screen Awards. The film is based on the true story of “Route Hyena” being built in 2010-2011 by a Quebec-based task force assembled around 1st Battalion Royal 22e Régiment, with tanks from 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada and Canadian combat engineers. However, for this English-language film, the units are shown to be from Western Canada, based on Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, an internationally known English-Language regiment stationed in Western Canada.
Plot.
In Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, Canadian Army troops are encountering resistance from insurgents as they construct “Hyena Road” deep into Taliban territory. Warrant Officer Ryan Sanders, the leader of a sniper section, finds himself under heavy fire while on sentry duty on the road. After their assigned evacuation vehicles are unable to reach their location, the section moves on foot and reaches a Pashtun village. They are harboured by a tribal elder (who has eyes of two different colours, one brown and the other blue) in his home, who sends the Taliban away after they attack the village while searching for the Canadians. Sanders and his section evacuate the area and return to base, where his secret lover Captain Jennifer Bowman, an officer in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), is also stationed. Meanwhile, Captain Pete Mitchell, an Intelligence Branch officer, carries out normal duties as the road is constructed, with little help from the Afghan National Army (ANA).
When he hears Sanders’ story of the Afghan elder, he decides to search for the man as a potential ally. He is helped in his search by a local asset assisting against the Taliban, called The Cleaner.
While a search of the village yields nothing, Mitchell believes the man to be “the Ghost”, a former militant who fought against the Soviets in the Soviet-Afghan War who gained his nickname for disappearing every time he was wounded, as his comrades would take him across the mountains into Pakistan to recover, out of the range of the Soviet military.
Mitchell eventually arranges a meeting with the Ghost, but the Ghost refuses to accept money as a deal for his help, wisely stating, “Only a fool accepts a gift without knowing what it’s worth”. During this conversation, Mitchell confirms his suspicion that they are talking with the man widely regarded as “The Ghost”.
