To put it bluntly, The Bomb is an emotionally devastating and harrowing 24 minutes of film. There’s simply no daylight or optimism in this short film, which depicts the sheer brutality of war.

Directed by Onur Dogan, with a script by Ömer Seyfettin, the Turkish film is set in a Balkan village just prior to World War I. Fearing for their future if they stay, a young couple, on the cusp of having their first child, dream and plan for life in America. Except, those plans don’t pan out because they’re invaded by a military captain and his vicious gang.

The film’s leads are Ece Bozkaya as the wife Magda and Ozan Ayhan as the despicable Captain Racof. There is absolutely nothing redeemable about Racof. He commits one awful act after another, including offering a screaming child a severed ear about a minute into the runtime. Yes, that one moment certainly sets the bleak tone for what’s to come.

Magda eventually agrees with her husband that they should escape, but when her husband is called away, Racof and his goons show up, demanding money from Magda’s family, especially her father-in-law, played by Zafer Diper. It’s pretty clear immediately that whether or not the family forks over the money doesn’t matter. Racof and his men will torture the family, mentally and physically, anyways. I don’t know how exactly Ayhan prepared for this role, but she deserves props for everything her character endures.

The level of realistic violence makes this a tough watch. There’s no levity. Nothing about this film glorifies war and instead, exposes the horrors for what they are. Racof and the men under him become a ruthless occupying force, raiding homes and simply taking what they want, when and how they want.

The Bomb is a potent, eye-opening watch. From the first frame to its devastating conclusion, the film doesn’t relent. Dogan crafted a short that thrusts a family into an awful situation with no way out, creating an utterly unromantic view of war and occupation in the process.