In this passage, muted ambient sounds are mixed with the background sound of breathing that seems to come from inside the character. Most of the sounds are in-screen, but others are off-screen, for example, the explosion that spurts mud onto the character’s forehead.
The combatant’s momentary deafness creates an effect of derealisation, emphasised visually by the jerky slow motion. Its association with the images of dismembered bodies suggests that the bewildered hero is traumatised by what he is witnessing. The return of the sound when a soldier asks a question ("What the hell do we do now, sir?") translates a brutal return to reality, but also suggests that the action enabled the trauma to be overcome.
