Sundance Institute
Democracy prevailed on Jan. 6, 2021, but that doesn’t mean it can sustain a second, better coordinated attack during the next election cycle—an opinion shared by enough former and current government officials that they agreed to participate in a unique training exercise designed to “stress test our national security system.” Directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s War Game is a document of that role-playing drill, and what it suggests is that there are key areas of weakness at the local, state, and national levels (and, in particular, in our military) that might beget disaster, as well as that certain seemingly decisive countermeasures may do more harm than good. Unfortunately, what it also indicates is that a reactive response may be insufficient to deal with a rapidly escalating threat, thereby turning the film into non-fiction nightmare fuel.
As with Moss’ Boys State and Girls State, War Game (which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival) is a portrait of a government simulation. This one was designed by non-partisan organization Vet Voice Foundation and carried out on Jan. 6, 2023, in close proximity to the site of the Donald Trump-instigated Capitol riots. Executed on stages with men and women from various service branches who are concerned about the United States’ readiness for a second attempted coup, it was an unscripted role-playing performance that was run by a collection of White Cell gamemasters and pitted a ”good guy” Blue Cell administration against a “bad guy” Red Cell insurrectionist movement determined to seize power through a multi-pronged campaign. The results, in the end, were nominally heartening. However, the lessons learned, and the dangers highlighted, were anything but comforting.
War Game’s make-believe scenario isn’t far removed from the recent past and immediate present. At the conclusion of the 2025 election, incumbent president John Hotham (played by Montana governor Steve Bullock) narrowly defeats his rival Robert Strickland (Chris Coffey), a fascistic Trump proxy, who immediately contests the results.