With “Operation Kabul”, Hungarian director Zsombor Dyga offers a striking point-of-view on the disastrous 2021 United States-led NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. The events resulted in the collapse of the Afghan government and military followed by a chaotic mass exodus of civilian non-combatants. The Taliban swooped in and immediately took control of the city of Kabul while NATO coalition forces stationed at the nearby airport frantically scrambled to evacuate their citizens and allies.

“Operation Kabul” is an absorbing war thriller inspired by real-life events from August 2021. It follows a specials ops unit from the Hungarian Defense Forces who are flown into the Kabul airport for a two-day retrieval operation. Their mission is to pickup and extract a group of 200 civilians from a list given to them by their State Department and transport them to safety in Uzbekistan. But as they arrive, the situation has already turned chaotic as over 10,000 desperate refugees converge on the airport in hopes of getting a flight out.

The story (written for the screen by Áron Horváth) follows the unit’s efforts to navigate the chaos at the airport, where they join numerous other allied nations in locating their people amid the masses crowding the gates. It’s a powder keg scenario that’s rooted in authentic tension. The soldiers are forced to turn away men, women, and children which only agitates the crowd. Meanwhile the looming threat of violence from hostile insurgent forces ratchets up as the situation intensifies.

A key member of the unit is Lieutenant Bálint Kerekes (Gábor Jászberényi), a seasoned soldier who was last in Afghanistan two years earlier. A series of flashbacks follow Bálint’s previous tour, where he met and assisted a Hungarian physician named Eszter (Blanka Mészáros). The two gained a strong mutual respect for each other before Bálint headed back home. Now he’s back and Eszter’s name is on his extraction list. But when word gets back that she has been abducted in Kabul, Bálint leads a team of riflemen on a daring rescue.

To their credit, Dyga and Horváth mostly steer clear of the political nonsense, keeping their focus on the boots on the ground. The film impressively conveys the weight of their circumstances and the impossible dilemmas they face. Several scenes boost the tension to near visceral levels while simultaneously remaining firmly grounded. This is especially true with the combat sequences. They’re fierce and harrowing yet authentic through the lens of DP Tamás Dobos’ camera.

“Operation Kabul” (titled “Dragons over Kabul” in its native Hungary) is a riveting new entry into the war thriller catalog. It’s one that embraces many of the elements we have come to expect from the genre. Yet it also offers a unique perspective on the events of August 2021. Some of the characters could use more depth, and certain events happen without much explanation. But the filmmakers nail what matters most. They effectively immerse us in a harrowing situation, rooting it in reality while never forgetting to entertain us.