Released at a time when America isn't entirely comfortable with fictitious depictions of a very real war, HOME OF THE BRAVE was a dreadful commercial failure. And while it lacks the substance of the great war dramas of our time, it is nevertheless intriguing.
The film draws the viewer in early on, with a group of American reservists assigned to a dangerous humanitarian mission in Baghdad. As their convoy is ambushed and put under fire, we share in their confusion and terror as bullets zing by and child-detonated roadside bombs maim. But the real challenge for the soldiers comes when they must readjust to their civilian lives. Suddenly, the world is a different place.
Where HOME OF THE BRAVE succeeds most is in conveying the utter isolation soldiers feel when they return to a society that doesn't understand them, that can't understand them. It lifts the courageous exterior of these men and women and exposes their very human reactions to what they have seen and done. This is a fascinating and important component of war that films often fail to adequately explore.
The film is also wise to avoid a position on the war. We see and hear the good and the bad of this battle, with all the characters ultimately forced to do what we all must, for or against: accept the war as it is.
The film draws the viewer in early on, with a group of American reservists assigned to a dangerous humanitarian mission in Baghdad. As their convoy is ambushed and put under fire, we share in their confusion and terror as bullets zing by and child-detonated roadside bombs maim. But the real challenge for the soldiers comes when they must readjust to their civilian lives. Suddenly, the world is a different place.
Where HOME OF THE BRAVE succeeds most is in conveying the utter isolation soldiers feel when they return to a society that doesn't understand them, that can't understand them. It lifts the courageous exterior of these men and women and exposes their very human reactions to what they have seen and done. This is a fascinating and important component of war that films often fail to adequately explore.
The film is also wise to avoid a position on the war. We see and hear the good and the bad of this battle, with all the characters ultimately forced to do what we all must, for or against: accept the war as it is.