10 Iraq war films about coming home
With
two films detailing the experiences of returning soldiers out this
month, we look back at some past films that have brought the war back
home...
This week’s Return and the imminent release of another Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Lucky One, proves that cinema still has plenty of room for potrayals of the Iraq war veteran’s return home. Return
is making news for the fact that it unusually follows a sole female
soldier, but Hollywood has been trying to commit the troubled
experiences of returning veterans for years, some more successfully than
others.
We don’t yet know how well The Lucky One will do, but we can only hope it echoes some of the more effective and insightful examples on this list (but it will probably be a lot like Dear John). There are, as with all films based on sensitive topics, some genuine stinkers here, but they are accompanied by an alarmingly small selection of movies that have dared ask the questions and explore the realities of soldiers returning to their old lives after the traumas of war.
Before
this, Hollywood hadn’t really found the right tone for films about the
Iraq war, but there was an overwhelming sense that Oren Moverman’s
portrait of the grief back home was a step in the right direction. With a
pair of brilliant performances from Ben Foster (who was nominated for
an Oscar) and Woody Harrelson, we follow two soldiers with the job to
inform families of their loss.
Foster’s character begins a relationship with one of the women they visit, and The Messenger becomes as much a moral dilemma tale and exploration of grief as a film about the war and national loss. You get the sense the film, which essentially put Foster on the map as a credible actor, will be one of those remembered for decades to come.
A remake of Susanne Bier’s Danish film, Brothers
stars Toby Maguire as a traumatised soldier who returns home to find
his brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) and wife (Natalie Portman) having gotten a
little too close for comfort. Increasingly unbalanced due to his his
capture and torture overseas, things turn violent when he starts to
suspect their friendship may be something more.
Maguire was universally praised for his powerful performance, but Brothers itself was much more steeped in melodrama than the film it was based on. Both versions had taken inspiration from Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, and you can see shades of the same plot – Grace had believed Sam dead; Sam being forced to kill his friend – in popular TV series Homeland.
Featuring Channing Tatum for the first time on this list, Stop-Loss
is one of the slightly less loved films of the tiny sub-genre. Critics
pointed out the movie’s honesty and noble intentions, but it was also
raw and muddled. Tatum, Ryan Phillippe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt all
plays members of a team who accidently kill several Iraqi civilians
during the conflict.
All suffering from different levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, the three friends come home to find emotions unchecked and questions unanswered. Reporting back to base, Brandon is suddenly ordered back to active duty (based on the controversial stop-loss policy) but, unable to face returning to the war, he becomes a deserter. Issues in the film were topical at the time of release and the cast (all having gone on to bigger things since) makes this worth a watch.
The returning soldier film is put through a rom-com filter for Nicholas Sparks adaptation, Dear John,
the second to star Channing Tatum as a good guy home from duty. While
on leave, John meets and falls in love with beautiful college student
Savannah (Amanda Seyfried). When separated, the couple communicate
through schmaltzy letters, and the contact maintains John’s morale
overseas.
Planning to return home, the September 11th attacks force him to reconsider his choices. Of course, the path of true love never does run smooth, and, after he re-enlists, Savannah marries someone else. Returning to find his father dying and Savannah having given up her dreams to look after her terminally ill husband, he becomes a civilian at last and the pair reconcile.
In
terms of ensemble casts in the sub-genre, it seems that three really is
the magic number, proven by the easy chemistry between Rachel McAdams,
Tim Robbins and Michael Pena in The Lucky Ones. Arriving at
JFK, the three strangers discover that all flights have been cancelled.
All with very differing goals once they reach home, they team up and
decide to travel across country together.
It’s an episodic road movie in structure, but the three characters’ experiences frame everything with issues pertinent to the war and its effect on soldier’s lives. Like many films made afterwards, they find that the world have changed since they left, and the lives they are returning to may not even exist anymore. It’s a little contrived in places, but provides the template for films tackling similar issues.
Instead of focusing on a soldier’s return home, In the Valley of Elah
follows a father’s quest to find his son’s killers after he fails to
return home from war. Having gone missing upon leaving active duty in
Iraq, Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) begins a hunt for those responsible. The
film is based on real events, although vast details including names and
locations were changed.
The film asks questions of the state of the US and the war they are fighting, and the mystery surrounding Mike’s disappearance is informed at every turn by the difficult questions being spouted in the media at the time. The real-world influence helps Elah transcend some of its heavy handedness, and it’s carried expertly by Tommy Lee Jones’ great performance.
The only British example we came across, and another film to follow a female soldier, In Our Name looks at Suzy’s family life after she accidently causes the death of an Iraqi child while on duty. Like Return, the film tells us just how hard mothers can find fitting back into family life once home.
She becomes obsessed and paranoid about the safety of her own daughter, and tries throughout the film to protect her from a seemingly non-existent threat. Tragically, her delusions and neuroses actually end up threatening her family, and the very thing she values the most may be destroyed by the responsibility she feels for a stranger’s fate.
As close to a light-hearted romp as you’ll get (however unwisely) from the subject matter, Walking Tall
stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as a soldier returning to his hometown
to find it overrun with gangsters and riddled with shady business
dealings. Of course, Johnson, being really cool, takes it upon himself
to sort it out.
After becoming Sheriff (of course), he fires the corrupt police force and puts pal Johnny Knoxville in charge. Understandably, the film doesn’t have much to say about politics and such, but shares much of its structure and subject matter with other films on the list. Surprisingly, it’s also one of the more financially successful films here.
Immediately
before they can go home, four soldiers (Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica
Biel, Brian Presley and 50 Cent) are involved in a brutal conflict, and
all of them lose something valuable in the process. Biel’s female
veteran is the worst off, losing a hand and returning to her old life
unable to do the most basic of things.
The film is unique in that it explores some of the physical traumas of soldiers as well as the effects of PTSD. Sadly, Home of the Brave wasn’t received well at all, and the casts efforts and good ideas were somewhat wasted by bad direction and a meandering plot.
Rather than follow a soldier who comes back home, Grace is Gone
shows us a family who has lost someone through war. John Cusack plays
the grieving father and widower of a soldier in Iraq and, when told of
her death in action, takes his daughters on a road trip where he plans
break the news.
While much of the plot can easily be found elsewhere, this is one of few films that defies convention and chooses to portray the damage a loss can inflict on those who remain. It’s also heartfelt and uplifting, opposed to the heavy drama of many other examples.
We don’t yet know how well The Lucky One will do, but we can only hope it echoes some of the more effective and insightful examples on this list (but it will probably be a lot like Dear John). There are, as with all films based on sensitive topics, some genuine stinkers here, but they are accompanied by an alarmingly small selection of movies that have dared ask the questions and explore the realities of soldiers returning to their old lives after the traumas of war.
The Messenger (2009)
Foster’s character begins a relationship with one of the women they visit, and The Messenger becomes as much a moral dilemma tale and exploration of grief as a film about the war and national loss. You get the sense the film, which essentially put Foster on the map as a credible actor, will be one of those remembered for decades to come.
Brothers (2009)
Maguire was universally praised for his powerful performance, but Brothers itself was much more steeped in melodrama than the film it was based on. Both versions had taken inspiration from Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, and you can see shades of the same plot – Grace had believed Sam dead; Sam being forced to kill his friend – in popular TV series Homeland.
Stop-Loss (2008)
All suffering from different levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, the three friends come home to find emotions unchecked and questions unanswered. Reporting back to base, Brandon is suddenly ordered back to active duty (based on the controversial stop-loss policy) but, unable to face returning to the war, he becomes a deserter. Issues in the film were topical at the time of release and the cast (all having gone on to bigger things since) makes this worth a watch.
Dear John (2010)
Planning to return home, the September 11th attacks force him to reconsider his choices. Of course, the path of true love never does run smooth, and, after he re-enlists, Savannah marries someone else. Returning to find his father dying and Savannah having given up her dreams to look after her terminally ill husband, he becomes a civilian at last and the pair reconcile.
The Lucky Ones (2008)
It’s an episodic road movie in structure, but the three characters’ experiences frame everything with issues pertinent to the war and its effect on soldier’s lives. Like many films made afterwards, they find that the world have changed since they left, and the lives they are returning to may not even exist anymore. It’s a little contrived in places, but provides the template for films tackling similar issues.
In the Valley of Elah (2007)
The film asks questions of the state of the US and the war they are fighting, and the mystery surrounding Mike’s disappearance is informed at every turn by the difficult questions being spouted in the media at the time. The real-world influence helps Elah transcend some of its heavy handedness, and it’s carried expertly by Tommy Lee Jones’ great performance.
In Our Name (2010)
She becomes obsessed and paranoid about the safety of her own daughter, and tries throughout the film to protect her from a seemingly non-existent threat. Tragically, her delusions and neuroses actually end up threatening her family, and the very thing she values the most may be destroyed by the responsibility she feels for a stranger’s fate.
Walking Tall (2004)
After becoming Sheriff (of course), he fires the corrupt police force and puts pal Johnny Knoxville in charge. Understandably, the film doesn’t have much to say about politics and such, but shares much of its structure and subject matter with other films on the list. Surprisingly, it’s also one of the more financially successful films here.
Home of the Brave (2006)
The film is unique in that it explores some of the physical traumas of soldiers as well as the effects of PTSD. Sadly, Home of the Brave wasn’t received well at all, and the casts efforts and good ideas were somewhat wasted by bad direction and a meandering plot.
Grace is Gone (2007)
While much of the plot can easily be found elsewhere, this is one of few films that defies convention and chooses to portray the damage a loss can inflict on those who remain. It’s also heartfelt and uplifting, opposed to the heavy drama of many other examples.
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