Makes for a good anti-war doc, to be sure, but an even finer -- and painfully accurate -- portrait of the former soldier as a young man.
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03/20/08
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Body of War (2008)
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:27
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: Unapologetically political, this intimate and heart wrenching profile of an Iraq veteran may be rough around the edges but takes a potent stance with determination and compassion.
Runtime: 87 mins
Genre: Theatrical Release
Synopsis: Tomas Young is another casualty of the war in Iraq. After less than a week on duty, a bullet wound to the back left him paralyzed. This emotional documentary follows the veteran as he returns home... [More]
Director: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue
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Reviews for Body of War
What makes Body Of War such a powerful documentary isn't the clever rhetorical device of debate vs. reality, but the way it documents American life in the '00s.
04/10/08
Editor Bernadine Colish weaves together all that C-SPAN footage into a disturbing procedural indictment.
04/11/08
Top CriticClick to read the article
04/23/09
Almost by definition, documentaries about Iraq are gut-wrenching reminders of the unaccomplished mission. Body of War transcends even that tough standard.
11/03/07
"Body of War" is so simple-minded and ham-handed in its case against the war that it ends up diluting its own argument.
07/18/08
[Tomas Young] deserves better treatment from the government than he's gotten as a returning veteran, and a better movie than this simpleminded indictment of every senator who voted 'yea.'
05/16/08
Body of War again demonstrates that we Americans still have some bitter truths to face.
05/16/08
Whatever you think of the film, Body of War stirs up real admiration for its subject.
10/18/08
Top CriticHalf an excellent and touching profile of a young veteran, but unfortunately, half a strident anti-war propaganda film.
04/17/08
Anti-war messages don't get any more powerful than this.
04/09/08
The doc gets up-close and personal. It shows one injured vet's reality after war.
11/18/08
It's the soldier in Iraq who fights on in the face of public apathy at home. The hope in this vital film is that the voices of soldiers will be raised. They will fight on until their mission is accomplished and the Iraq war is history.
05/18/08
Equal parts sadness and inspiration, fury and compassion, the film is sure to divide audiences along ideological lines. But there’s no denying the reality of Tomas Young’s experiences. A man who has paid so much is more than entitled to his opinions.
03/07/08
Body of War is a powerful and effective documentary because it keeps its focus very tight and makes its story vivid in personal terms.
06/08/08
Body of War is neither the most cinematic nor the most elegantly crafted of recent Iraq war documentaries, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most deeply affecting.
04/24/08
Body of War doesn't bombard you with statistics or parade talking heads to beat the dead-horse argument that the invasion is a tragedy fueled by bullshit. Its pull is more human.
04/04/08
Body of War makes no bones about its activism. Then again, like the others, it's the willingness to contextualize events and apply reason to them that makes it and others so valuable.
04/25/08
Top CriticOn the lower tier of the numerous docs about the war and the Middle East.
04/24/08
The overreaching Spiro and Donahue are not content to persuade viewers; they insist on convincing us.
05/15/08
Latest News for Body of War
November 20, 2007:
Fifteen Documentaries Vie for Oscar Consideration
A little over a week after reporting the names of the dozen films being submitted for Oscar consideration in the animated feature film category, Variety has given readers the... More...
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