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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

Reviews for Body of War

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

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

"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

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

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

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

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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