After international forces pull out of Afghanistan in 2013, the responsibility of maintaining security falls on the shoulders of the newly formed Afghan National Army (ANA). Directors Saeed Taji Farouky and Michael McEvoy, embedded with one inexperienced and ill-equipped unit of the ANA over the course of a year, provide a gripping and poignant narrative of the soldiers who are engaged, often reluctantly, in the perilous and sometimes absurdly challenging struggle to defend Helmand Province against Taliban insurgents. Scenes of their everyday lives in the barracks and moments of sincere off-screen commentary are juxtaposed with immersive and unsanitized footage of battles. Through expert cinematography and sound editing, Tell Spring Not to Come This Year makes clear the human cost of a forgotten war and the realities of continued conflict. While the film depicts chaos and bloodshed, it also presents us with complex Afghan protagonists who exhibit bravery in both their actions and their honesty.  AM