What is fact and what is fiction isn't as important as how it's presented. By blending actual events with creative storytelling, the filmmakers have formed a sort of ideological morass, which the characters and audience must wade through. The deeper you dig for the truth, the stickier the quagmire becomes. If the title doesn't point in any helpful direction, consider that it's the term locals use to describe the occupation and insurgency—and everything that comes with them.
Much of the film concerns characters trying vainly to accomplish something or communicate with someone—a series of vignettes in which ideas are brought forth from multiple angles, but there's no form for them to fit in. We can argue about politics and religion all we want, or struggle with all our might, but nothing is accomplished. There is no civilization, only chaos.
When one of Anna's contacts is murdered, the plot begins to take on elements of a thriller as her investigation takes her further into harm's way. There's also a pointless romantic triangle. But this is not a narrative so much as a vivid description of a world where gunfire is just background noise. "I feel like we're lost out here," explains one American official. "Don't ever tell anybody I said that."