Body of War - The True Story of an Anti-War Hero

Body of War - The True Story of an Anti-War Hero
by Phil Donahue, Ellen Spiro

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DVD details

Actor: Tomas Young
Director: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue
Brand: New Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-10-28
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: DOCURAMA

DVD Reviews of Body of War - The True Story of an Anti-War Hero

DVD Review: All anyone needs to know about war
Summary: 5 Stars

Contrary to popular belief. War is not pretty. War does not create heros. War leaves no one untouched. For any parent thinking their sons or daughters can go to war and come back relatively unscathed, think again.

War does two things very well...it creates orphans and it creates children. Tomas is one of those children. Tomas came back from Iraq and now depends on this mother and others to take care of him. No scene says this more than mom helping Tomas insert a cath in the back of their van.

Tomas has no choice anymore. He is a child in his mother's care just as much as any new born would be.

To watch Tomas struggle so much after proudly serving his country is beyond sad. To watch Tomas struggle just to get the medical and attention he deserves from the US is also beyond sad.

DVD Review: Tough, Memorable And Full Of Heart.
Summary: 4 Stars

"Body Of War" is a tough, heartfelt documentary that focuses on those who are directly hit by a government's war policies: The soldiers. Yes, it is true that George W. Bush has left the White House, but Barack Obama is preparing to expand the war in Afghanistan and is reportedly planning to keep up to 50,000 troops in Iraq even after a proposed 19 month pullout. So Americans can expect to continue debating our current status as a country at war. However Tomas Young's story might make a viewer think twice about supporting the continuation of the current war policies.

Young was a young American naturally enraged by the September 11 terrorist attacks, watching Dubya rally the troops from the top of the World Trade Center wreckage, Young's patriotism was awakened and he enlisted in the army. Barely seven days into his service in Iraq, Young was shot and paralyzed. "Body Of War" captures Young's physical and mental struggles, and shows us a veteran returning home to discover that his government basically swindled the country into war, using lies and propaganda to invade Iraq. Like Ron Kovic of "Born On The Fourth Of July," Young joins the antiwar movement and uses his story to spread truth.

Directors Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro have crafted here an interesting document of a dark, divisive time in American history. Without having to resort to the more detailed, grand scale of films like "Why We Fight" or "Fahrenheit 9/11," they capture the human side of the suffering and raging debate the Iraq war has caused. We see the differences in public opinion even in Young's family: His mother has become an intense antiwar protester while his father remains a staunch right-wing Republican, a fan of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Even Young's younger brother signs up and ships out to Iraq. This is fascinating material and even a source of one of the film's weaknesses, that we don't explore these themes more, that they are kept more in the background.

What is kept in focus however, is harrowing. We see Young struggle just to live a daily life, punctuated by pain, fear, anger and sometimes humiliation. The film doesn't just show us Young in a wheelchair, it gives us an in-depth look at how a man in his condition lives, the daily battles he faces even when it comes to sex or something we all take for granted like being able to simply go to the bathroom. There are some powerful moments where Young goes on tour to protest the war, but struggles to speak in public because he has little control over his body temprature.

In a brilliant editing choice, the directors intercut Young's story with the historic Senate vote that gave Bush full authority to invade Iraq. We see a roll call of all the politicians who supported the war, Republican and Democrat (two, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, currently hold major positions of power in the new administration). Here we see how what is approved by those in the corridors of power can have catastrophic consequences for the average citizen. There is also some intercutting of footage showing Bush's massive propaganda about Saddam Hussein and how those in Congress recycled accusations that today would sound hilarious or ridiculous if they hadn't lead to such tragedy.

Is "Body Of War" biased? Absolutely. It is a film full of outrage, the outrage of a young man who decided to serve his country and discovered he was maimed for lies. Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder provides some excellent songs with a beautiful, classic folk bent. "Body Of War" may anger some for its opinions, but they are opinions that not so long ago, were almost dangerous to utter in the United States. In a time of war, who better to listen to than to those who actually fought? Yes, I know, there are other soldiers with a difference of opinion, without a doubt, but this is a film about a soldier who lost a great deal and is angry over what he lost it for. "Body Of War" is a film that truly carries an American spirit.

DVD Review: A brave and broken hero
Summary: 5 Stars

"We're gonna find the evildoers, and smoke 'em outta their hole!"

Just after the tragic events of 9/11, President Bush tries to rally the troops and prepare the country for war. Fueled by patriotism, Tomas Young calls his recruiter, anxious to do his part for America.
After being trained, he becomes startled as he soon learns he's getting shipped to Iraq instead of Afghanistan. And once there, his life quickly gets shattered. An Iraqi bullet left him paralyzed from the chest down.
He's eventually shipped back home to Kansas City, MO, given a medal, and quickly forgotten about by the people that sent him overseas. It's a terrible shame.

This documentary concentrates on his life after the injury. It's a shocking, eye-opening experience. Tomas speaks out against the war, while struggling severely with his injury and the mental burden he's forced to carry. He joins VATW(Veterans Against The War) and beckons our political leaders for answers.

Body of War is directed by Phil Donahue. It includes a powerful soundtrack by Eddie Vedder.
Plus, it shows real footage of Senators, such as McCain and Mrs. Clinton, speaking for the war cause just after 9/11.
One very interesting note, several Black leaders spoke out against the war in Iraq, warning us of the financial crisis and unfounded reasons behind such actions. Their voices went unheard.

A must-see documentary that will really hit home. STAY STRONG TOMAS!!

DVD Review: bought for a friend
Summary: 5 Stars

i bought this for a vietnam vet friend of mine that wanted to see it i watched some of it it shows that war is hell

DVD Review: A must-see heart-breaker
Summary: 5 Stars

This documentary provides an extremely good view of our government's failure to help or make public (enough) their failures of helping our disabled and wounded troops when they come back from the war. It is a shining example of Bush and Cheney's "so what" approach to the many devastating aftermaths of the war.

Description of Body of War - The True Story of an Anti-War Hero

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.

DVD Features: Eddie Vedder Music Video No More; MSNBC interview with Phil Donahue; CSPAN coverage of the House and Senate debates; Deleted Scenes; Theatrical Trailer; Filmmaker Biographies

At the center of Body of War is Tomas Young, a smart, determined guy who enlisted in the military the day after he saw President Bush stride through the ruins of the World Trade Center. He expected to be sent to Afghanistan to get the people who attacked his country; instead, he was shipped to Iraq, where he took a bullet through the collarbone a week after arriving and was paralyzed for life from the chest down. Young's subsequent struggle to be heard, by speaking out and questioning why U.S. soldiers went to Iraq, is chronicled in this film. Directors Phil Donahue (yes, talkshow host Phil Donahue) and Ellen Spiro cast a wider net, which is where the film begins to feel a little scattered, even if their cause is a fervent one. The Senate vote on authorizing the Bush plan for Iraq is a running theme, with the names of the voters emblazoned on the screen (this would be an even more effective drumbeat if it weren't drowning in overbearing music). Meanwhile, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, an old political hand with a checkered past, emerges as the voice of Constitutional sanity. His soaring speeches leading up to the crucial vote are excerpted at length, so it's no surprise that he and Tomas Young should eventually meet. But whatever the film's ambitions, its finest moments are in following Young and bluntly assessing (with considerable physical detail) his status. Original songs by Eddie Vedder are judiciously placed and passionately delivered. --Robert Horton

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