a5c7b9f00b What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home? Hell and Back Again is a cinematically revolutionary film that asks and answers these questions with a power and intimacy no previous film about the conflict in Afghanistan has been able to achieve. It is a masterpiece in the cinema of war.
I want to start off by saying if you don't have any type of military service, I personally don't think you have a right to leave a review of this documentary.<br/><br/>As an OEF veteran, this documentary was really intense and emotional to watch, but only because it brought me back to that country. My tour wasn't anything close to as rough as his, but I know what it's like on some level and I can relate in a general sense. It really shows you how the war in Afghanistan is with no media twists. It shows how we are truly doing our best to help the people of Afghanistan, and also shows his life after the deployment as well. Many people think a soldiers experience with war ends the moment he returns home. This is stuff that stays with you for life, and I really like how they show you both during and after.<br/><br/>This is how it is, so if you want to see what the war in Afghanistan is like without any biased media distorting the information, watch this.
Sometimes the power in the imagery of a film alone tells an ambiguous tale that can be taken in many directions by a viewer. With the plethora of documentaries on the Iraq and Afghanistan adventures pushing you this way or that, it was incredibly refreshing to see one that had its intentions somewhere else. Just present the war and its impacts and let the chips fall where they may.<br/><br/>People made a big deal last year about Restrepo showing the intensity of moments in combat. That film, while great, doesn't even touch what young Danfung Dennis achieves here. The up close intimacy of the war moments took the most brazen courage to compile, but the shots are so beautifully constructed you truly can touch the daring and fear of those moments. I have only felt this before in narrative films like The Hurt Locker.<br/><br/>But the footage of the struggle this troubled soldier endures in his recovery from crippling injuries is equally compelling, frightening and heartbreaking. The sewing together of the two worlds presented has a power all its own.<br/><br/>I really believe this amazing young filmmaker, who really gives his all to the art in this film, deserves recognition. It won the documentary jury prize at Sundance. It now has been shortlisted by the Oscars for nomination consideration. These are so deserved.
Similar in its battlefield passages to last year's Danish-made "Armadillo," Dennis' film scores a layered perspective that follows Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris into combat and back home.