Guy Ritchie's The Covenant has the famed filmmaker addressing life or death themes taken directly from current events. In 2021, the United States military ceased combat operations and evacuated from Afghanistan after two decades of bloody conflict with the Taliban. The radical Islamists swiftly conquered the country and begin bloody reprisals against Afghan citizens who helped America fight the repressive regime.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Sergeant John Kinley in the waning days of the Afghanistan War. His unit is assigned a new interpreter after experiencing tragic losses due to a truck bomb. Dar Salim co-stars as Ahmed, a headstrong man whose son was murdered by the Taliban. The pair get off to a rocky start, but Ahmed quickly proves his worth on dangerous patrols.

A secret mission deep in enemy territory has catastrophic results. Ahmed rescues a critically injured John and carries him to safety across deadly terrain. John, safely back in California after recovering, is dismayed to learn that Ahmed and his family are on the run as Taliban targets. He resolves to save his brother in arms at all costs.

Gyllenhaal spoke proudly of being an American with our "ethos" and values. No one is left behind. Salim confirmed the belief of fighting for the man next to you, whether a US soldier, interpreter, or Afghan civilian. He auditioned for Guy Ritchie via tape before meeting in person. Salim credits that initial conversation as "the most interesting I've had with a filmmaker."

Gyllenhaal had a wealth of military training from previous roles but credits their special ops advisors for helping "throughout the whole process." The actors had a clear message about avoiding political statements. They use entertainment "to shine a light" and "awaken" audiences to push for change. A difficult task as the resurgent Taliban crushes women's rights and curtails personal freedoms.

Guy Ritchie's Casting

The Covenant cast
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

MW: Talk about getting cast by Guy Ritchie. How do you get in the mindset for such an intense role?

Dar Salim: So getting cast by Guy, it's an audition tape in my case, and a meeting with him, which was phenomenal. He's a very special individual, very intellectual, very clever, really philosophical. This conversation was probably one of the most interesting I've had with a filmmaker. He just kept talking about philosophy, abstract questions in the back of the script, and then saying, "Explain the whole thing to me again in 30 seconds." This is just how he works the whole way through the process. He kind of let us make it up as we went along, the whole movie and the characters together on set. He's a very special movie-maker.

Related: Guy Ritchie's The Covenant Review: A Visceral Display of Brotherhood on the Battlefield

MW: Jake, what about your preparation, as far as getting in gear with the guns and training?

Jake Gyllenhaal: I have a good amount of experience. I've played ex-military and military in a number of films to this point. So I've been trained by some of the best technical advisors since I was pretty young. But what's interesting about it is, as you make these films throughout time, obviously things are updated, weapons handling, everything kind of slowly changes. In terms of preparation, I had a good foundation, and then we had two wonderful technical advisors who were with us. Both special ops guys who were just so kind and very good. They were showing me things throughout the whole process.

Jake Gyllenhaal: For me, Guy sent me the story. I just thought, this movie in the hands of someone like Guy Ritchie is a very interesting sort of combination. It made me feel proud to be an American, honestly. We have an ethos of no one left behind. And that's what the story's about. It's about doing good, despite ourselves, doing good reluctantly, which I love without sentimentality. I think stories like this can actually delve into a lot. Look how good we are. But in fact, the two characters didn't like each other very much. I love that they didn't like each other very much, but ended up doing probably some of the best things for another human being you could do.

Not a Political Film

Gyllenhaal in The Covenant
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

MW: Here's a difficult political question. Those who served in Afghanistan are heartbroken the Taliban are back in charge. Women's rights are being curtailed. We're not going back to fight another war. What do you guys think we can do to help these people, and promote change in a country where it looks like the Dark Ages again?

Dar Salim: Well, I think first and foremost, we've done a movie that's entertaining. You have to get people to watch it, even when making like a news flash or a documentary. So we succeed to have people entertained, and have an emotional hook, and get them on board the story, which I feel this movie does. Then we tell a story about the guys on the ground, which is very universal. The soldiers on the ground always fight for the man next door, the guy next to them.

Dar Salim: In this case, it shows that it doesn't matter if you're Afghan, or if you're an interpreter, or you're a soldier. Not necessarily all of them went through this larger than life story that we're telling. But the Afghan interpreters every day put their lives at stake for the US soldiers. And the US soldiers that put their lives at stake trying to do the right thing every day. That's the story that we're telling about those two communities.

Jake Gyllenhaal: This is not a political movie. I think that's what's beautiful about it. I think we have 300 Afghan interpreters that have been killed since 2001. There are thousands wore waiting at bases. I think the power of film, the power of movies, which I deeply believe in, is that it gets the opportunity to shine light on something emotionally that's important. This is a parable. This is a story about doing good. And it is our ethos as Americans that no one is left behind. I think that is important to shine light on that ethos and that idea again.

Related: Best Documentaries About the Global War on Terrorism

Devoted to America

Jake Gyllenhaal: Media cycles have so much information coming at us that we can see, care emotionally, and connect to something. That's the job that we do. Hopefully entertain and show people something special and awaken something in someone that allows them to make some change and push something forward. That is our hope.

Jake Gyllenhaal: One of my closest friends is a marine. His interpreter, who he owes his life, brought his daughters over to the states. They're devoted to America. I think it is very important that we shed light on this idea. We've gotten a lot of help. And that's what we hope for.

The Covenant will be released theatrically on April 21st from MGM.