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Movies / On DVD / Body of War
Body of War

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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... 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 and undergoes a transformation, becoming one of the many voices protesting the war. Directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, BODY OF WAR features two original songs performed by Eddie Vedder. [More]

Director: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue

Director: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue
Producer: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue
Composer: Eddie Vedder, Jeff Layton

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Release:

Oct 28, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Paralyzed from the chest down after serving in Iraq for just one week, 25-year-old Tomas Young is forced to deal with the realities of war each and every day. For Tomas, learning to cope with his disability meant finding his voice to speak out against the war in Iraq.
  • Directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro and set to the haunting vocals of Eddie Vedder, the multi award-winning BODY OF WAR splits its time between Tomas's arduous daily reality in Kansas City, MO, and the legislative processes that led up to the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Senatorial speeches and a running tally of pro-war votes are interspliced with intimate footage of Tomas as he navigates through the acute physical and emotional impacts of his injury. A testament to the power of parallel images, the film adeptly juxtaposes the sanitized vantage point of Washington with raw personal experience. In the end, this contrast forces viewers to question the motives, methods, and ever-rising cost of the conflict in Iraq.
  • A deeply moving and bracingly honest film, BODY OF WAR narrates a story that must be heard - a story of courage, conviction, and resistance.
  • Source: New Video Group, Inc.
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    Reviews for Body of War

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    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/23/09
    Gerald Peary
    Gerald Peary
    Boston Phoenix

    The doc gets up-close and personal. It shows one injured vet's reality after war.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
    11/18/08
    Ross Anthony
    Ross Anthony
    Hollywood Report Card
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    Whatever you think of the film, Body of War stirs up real admiration for its subject.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Michael Phillips
    Michael Phillips
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    "Body of War" is so simple-minded and ham-handed in its case against the war that it ends up diluting its own argument.

    Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
    07/18/08
    Rob Thomas
    Rob Thomas
    Capital Times (Madison, WI)

    Body of War is a powerful and effective documentary because it keeps its focus very tight and makes its story vivid in personal terms.

    Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
    06/08/08
    Beth Accomando
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org

    The lack of ego and relatively little self-pity [wheelchair-bound Tomas] Young has is astounding.

    Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
    06/04/08
    Michael Dance
    Michael Dance
    The Cinema Source

    Donahue and Spiro should've spent more time exploring the human moments and much less time browbeating us with stuff we already know.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
    05/21/08
    Sean Burns
    Sean Burns
    Philadelphia Weekly

    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.

    Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
    05/18/08
    Adam Fendelman
    Adam Fendelman
    HollywoodChicago.com

    It's an unusually intimate portrait.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    05/16/08
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    [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.'

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    05/16/08
    J. R. Jones
    J. R. Jones
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Body of War again demonstrates that we Americans still have some bitter truths to face.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    05/16/08
    Jim Emerson
    Jim Emerson
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The overreaching Spiro and Donahue are not content to persuade viewers; they insist on convincing us.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    05/15/08
    Colin Covert
    Colin Covert
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It is not merely an antiwar document, but a complex profile in courage of a paraplegic and patriot.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    05/02/08
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
    04/25/08
    Carina Chocano
    Carina Chocano
    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    On the lower tier of the numerous docs about the war and the Middle East.

    Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
    04/24/08
    Geoff Berkshire
    Geoff Berkshire
    Metromix.com

    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.

    Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
    04/24/08
    Scott Foundas
    Scott Foundas
    L.A. Weekly

    A tough, affecting documentary about an American soldier in the Iraq war.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    04/18/08
    John Hartl
    John Hartl
    Seattle Times

    A chance to witness the struggles of a remarkable young man. Young may be paralyzed in the body, but his mind is fiercely alive.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    04/18/08
    Tamara Straus
    Tamara Straus
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Half an excellent and touching profile of a young veteran, but unfortunately, half a strident anti-war propaganda film.

    Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
    04/17/08
    Jette Kernion
    Jette Kernion
    Cinematical
     
     
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