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Knowing what we know about the traction (or lack thereof) among Iraq films these days, it was curious to see Page Six a few weeks back bashing the tense, tiny drama Battle For Haditha. Directed by noted documentary provocateur Nick Broomfield (Kurt and Courtney, Biggie and Tupac) and even lacking American distribution (though it does open a one-off run Friday in New York), Haditha nevertheless triggered a strong reaction from the gossip mavens: "MASSACRE FLICK CALLED FAKE," their headline screamed, sandwiched between items about Russell Simmons and Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester. We know! We were as surprised as you are:

One group, Defend Our Marines, states on its Web site that British-born Broomfield claimed he'd show the world the "unflinching truth" about Haditha, but instead had actors improvise phony, obscenity-filled dialogue as they shot innocent civilians. One scene in which an Iraqi is gunned down as he flees through a field is said to be completely fictional. Charges against five of eight Marines involved have been dropped so far.

Sure, perhaps it's business as usual at the Post, but still: Kind of a strong gossip-page reaction for such a low-profile underdog, right? Not only strong, Broomfield told us when asked about it Tuesday, but also inaccurate.

"That scene was totally based on interviews that I did with the three Marines who shot that guy," Broomfield said. "I talked to them separately; they went into the scene in great detail about what happened. And I recreated it as honestly and accurately as I possibly could. So my reaction to that is that it's written by people who don't know and aren't seeing the bigger picture: We aren't criticizing the Marines. It's about understanding what went through their heads on that day. We're looking at their training — these 17-year-old guys who've never been out of the United States before, who don't know anything about Arab culture or the war they're fighting. It's not a black and white film about good and evil; it's about what happens in a war."

We also caught up with the film's star Elliot Ruiz, himself a former Marine whose Iraq tour ended was wounded in 2003. He was a little angrier. "People look at this film and right away just throw it off to the side because they see the military killing Iraqis," he said. "Right away they think it's an anti-American or anti-military film." Ruiz sighed. "We're trying to show what might have happened that day. We're not trying to blame the Marines. Who is to blame for all this? Who put us there? We're kids thrown into this country, and we're fighting for our lives. Who should be on trial for those murders?"

Hell, we don't know. But now that Iraq is gossip-worthy, maybe Page Six has an opinion? Anyone over there care to comment?