Officially known as Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, so as to not get confused with the 2006 film The Covenant, this is an action packed movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The story centres on the battle between the Taliban and John Kinley, a U.S. Army Green Beret sergeant, and Ahmed, his Afghan interpreter. It was released in April of 2023 and it did relatively decent in the box office considering it was meant to be a streaming flick. On Rotten Tomatoes it garnered a 83% positive rating from 116 critic reviews. Among the military community, the Covenant is well regarded for its attention to detail. But is it based on a real story? Let’s dive in.
The Plot
During a routine vehicle inspection in Lashkargah in March 2018, U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sergeant John Kinley and his unit are attacked by a truck bomb attack planned by the Taliban, which results in the death of his interpreter. He is introduced to Ahmed Abdullah, a loyal but unpopular interpreter who claims he pursues the job mainly for money, when he is in need of a replacement. Kinley discovers during an undercover arrest mission that Ahmed was once connected to the Taliban through the opium trade but had left when the group killed his son. Later, Ahmed wins Kinley’s respect by preventing a Taliban unit with the assistance of a compromised Afghan National Army man from ambushing Kinley’s team.
Kinley’s unit is attacked by more Taliban forces during a search for a potential insurgent weapons cache around 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Bagram Air Base. Everyone save him and Ahmed are killed in the attack. The two are successful in making their escape on foot while also killing numerous Taliban fighters. They are once again attacked by militants as they try to make their way back to the airbase across the treacherous terrain of Afghanistan’s mountains. The attackers manage to hurt Kinley before clubbing him with a rifle butt, rendering him helpless. After killing the Taliban, Ahmed decides to return Kinley to the air base. Kinley is carried over the perilous country’s mountainous terrain by Ahmed as he eludes the Taliban pursuing them with assistance from some sympathetic Afghans. Several days later Ahmed and Kinley are near Bagram but are attacked by Taliban fighters; Ahmed kills the fighters but is shortly thereafter apprehended by U.S. troops.
Kinley is brought back to his home in Santa Clarita, California, seven weeks later. He has no idea how he was saved, but he is aware of Ahmed’s part in it. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family have to move underground as a result of the two’s antics becoming local legend, she spends over a month trying in vain to get them U.S. visas. Emotionally tormented and rendered near sleepless by his inability to repay his indebtedness towards Ahmed, Kinley finally resolves to save him himself, enlisting the assistance of his superior, Lieutenant Colonel Vokes, to procure the visas.
After returning to Afghanistan under the guise of Ron Kay, Kinley meets with Parker, a private military contractor, who agrees to help provided Kinley finds Ahmed first. After nearly being apprehended at a road checkpoint, which alerted the Taliban, Kinley encounters Ali, a Taliban supplier who is able to smuggle Kinley over their territory while also killing two terrorists. Kinley is informed by Vokes that Parker has the visas after they have been processed. Finally reaching Ahmed’s hiding place, Kinley convinces him to travel with him to the United States along with his family. Parker, who has discovered Kinley’s true identity, makes arrangements for an AC-130 gunship and an Apache attack helicopter to provide air support after realising the danger the two face as a result of their importance to the Taliban. Kinley is attacked by the Taliban at the same time, but she is able to flee with Ahmed’s family to the nearby Darunta Dam.
The two are surrounded by oncoming Taliban units, and they fight them for a long time until they run out of ammunition. The AC-130 and Apache helicopter, however, show up and dispatch the assailants. Parker shows along with more help and says he would have been completely behind Kinley’s objective had he not been hiding his identity. As they fly out of Afghanistan after being escorted back to Bagram, Kinley and Ahmed nod to each other to show that the vow has been upheld.
The Use of Interpreters by the US in Afghanistan
There is no doubt that the US military utilized Afghan interpreters through the entire time they were in country. In fact, the US military employed many Afghan civilians in various capacities even though it is widely assumed that they only assisted with the Afghan Police and military.
Specifically, interpreters employed by the US military were largely hit and miss with some being very successful and others causing more issues than they were solving. It seemed like it was usually one extreme end of the spectrum and on a case by case basis. With that said, many US military members formed some close bonds with their interpreters. As a result, when the US military began pulling out of Afghanistan, priority was given to evacuating interpreters who assisted the US military.
So is The Covenant based on a true story?
The very short answer is no, it’s not. Kinley and Ahmad are fictional characters that do no exist in real life. Furthermore, the plot of the Covenant is fictional itself and there was never an operation of such.
With that being said, it should be noted that the movie was extensively researched around the Afghan conflict with great attention being given to the relationship between the Afghan interpreters and the US military. Guy Ritchie realized the vital role many of the interpreters had played and wanted that to be recognized.
As a result, the dialogue, interactions, and the bonds are realistic in nature of what many Afghan interpreters and US military members felt. It is also true that the interpreters were offered deals where they were told they would end up in America at some point, one way or another.
Final Thoughts
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is a great action thriller movie that I would recommend everyone enjoy. It features a great story and tells the connection that the Afghan interpreters felt with the US military counterparts very well. However, this movie is not based on a true story or any specific incident.
Ben