Upamanyu Biswas
Directed by Clint Eastwood, ‘American Sniper’ revolves around the life of Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEALs sniper who is credited with 160 confirmed kills on multiple Iraqi tours. While the film mainly delves into Kyle juggling his time between family and his country, it also highlights some exhilarating action scenes centered on the battle between the two opposing ground forces in Iraq. To that end, a large extent of the story’s external conflict lies in the protagonist’s battle against an enemy sniper named Mustafa, who terrorizes the ranks of the US military. The mysterious sharpshooter proves to be an opponent of immense skill, almost rivaling Kyle’s marksman abilities. As such, it sets up an exciting conflict between both sides while also diving into the intricacies of the situation on the battlefield.
Mustafa is Partially Inspired By a Real Iraqi Sniper
While ‘American Sniper’ is largely based on Chris Kyle’s eponymous memoir, which details his exploits in the military, the film laces the true events with some dramatized elements. This extends to the character of Mustafa, who is vaguely based on an anonymous Iraqi sniper named Juba, who was active during the Iraqi Insurgency. He was part of the Islamic Army of Iraq, often seen in videos from 2005 to 2007, gunning down US soldiers from a distance. These online videos played a huge role in capturing the public attention, which is also the case with Mustafa’s character. Although Juba claims to have killed 37 soldiers in one of his videos, the number is disputed by those seeking proper verification. Some also claim that Juba is not one but multiple snipers operating under the same pseudonym.
As the situation on the ground was tense, Iraqi civilians saw Juba’s antics as a sign of a folk hero, someone taking a stand against enemies. There were rumors claiming that he switched allegiances from the Islamic Army to Al Qaeda Iraq when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi came into power. A similar dynamic unfolds in the movie as people see Mustafa as a lone vigilante figure operating under Zarqawi. Scriptwriter Jason Hall also included an additional backstory in Mustafa’s character that distinguishes him from Juba to an extent. In the film, Mustafa is described as a Syrian Olympic shooter who transitioned into the life of an Insurgent warrior when war came knocking on his country’s doorstep. It raises the stakes on the circumstances and provides an external agency to the film. This is particularly highlighted when Kyle loses two friends to sniper fire from Mustafa.
The constant run-in between Kyle and Mustafa sets up a tense relationship between the pair. Although they never come face-to-face in the story, their long-distance rivalry is pivotal to the movie’s central drama. As long as Mustafa remains free and a threat to other soldiers, Kyle feels a responsibility to keep returning to Iraq and sacrificing his life for his country. It installs a personal element into the story and makes the conflict between Kyle and Mustafa akin to a revenge story. Thus, the sniper plays a specific purpose in the narrative, allowing the audience to understand the protagonist’s motivation through an opposition force that keeps him rooted in his military life. Once he resolves that conflict, he can finally say goodbye and resume his civilian life; however, it proves more challenging to accomplish than expected.
