ReelAbilities ’11: Warrior Champions

They sustained life changing injuries, but they can still kick your butt. For several wounded American servicemen, the chance of making the Paralympic Games provides camaraderie, a goal to focus on, and hopefully the opportunity to represent their country once again. Craig and Brent Renaud follow four such veterans pursuing Olympic gold on an accelerated training schedule in Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing (trailer here), which screens during the 2011 ReelAbilities, at the Manhattan JCC and points throughout all five boroughs.

Melissa Stockwell already had a claim on history as the first American female soldier to lose a limb in combat. After running the New York Marathon with a prosthetic leg (a feat predating the events of Warrior) she sets out to become the first veteran to make the U.S. Paralympic swim team. Kortney Clemons has a similar goal for the U.S. track team. A medic wounded in the final weeks of his tour while attempting reach wounded soldiers, Clemons is the only POV character to directly address the attack that robbed him of his leg, yet remarkably he expresses no bitterness.

While disillusioned might be too strong a term, Marine Carlos Leon certainly prefers to concentrate on discuss training rather than airing his views on the military. In contrast, his shot-putter roommate Scott Winkler remains as eloquently patriotic as ever. A born motivational speaker who definitely has a successful political career in his future if he so desires, Winkler spends nearly as much time recruiting fellow wounded veterans and counseling paraplegic children. Leon worries it might cost Winkler a spot on the team, but Winkler will not be dissuaded from giving back.

Much to the frustration of some New Yorkers at last night’s screening, the Renaud Brothers carefully avoid re-debating the Iraq War, instead focusing on their subjects and the therapeutic value of sport in their recovery. Nearly a two-man band, they also served as cinematographers and co-edited with Eddie Stein. Perhaps they should have composed the music as well, because the tinny-sounding canned soundtrack is a bit distracting at times. (I can recommend some fantastic emerging musician-composers for their next project.)

Few have sacrificed as much as Warrior’s central figures and lived to tell about it. Yet, their love of country remains unshakable. Indeed, it is hard to not get a little misty-eyed when the film finally reaches Beijing. Frankly, it is one of the most patriotic documentaries currently playing the festival circuit. Touching and refreshingly nonpartisan, Warrior screens again this afternoon (2/7) at Hostos Community College in the Bronx and tomorrow (2/8) at the Central Queens Library, as ReelAbilities continues throughout the City. It is also available on DVD at the film’s website.

Marine’s Eye View: Severe Clear

Yes sir, the Marines certainly can use some strong language. They will also fight and die for their country without so much as a second thought. All of which comes through loud and clear in Kristian Fraga’s Severe Clear (trailer here), a documentary edited from video recorded by USMC First Lieutenant Mike Scotti and his fellow Marines that opens this Friday in New York and San Diego (home to MCAS Miramar and the Naval Base).

What started as notes for a projected book became a video diary and ultimately a theatrical documentary, divided into chapters that follow the Marine’s tour of duty. Strictly speaking, it seems like Scotti ought to be credited as the director of Severe, with Fraga listed as editor and co-producer. After all, it was Scotti who shot most of the footage and acquired the rest from his Marine brothers. His is the dominant voice that speaks on behalf of his comrades, though how representative his current disillusionment is will obviously be debatable.

Scotti wanted to show people the realities of war, and his film certainly does that. However, in the age of embeds and documentaries like Brothers at War, Severe’s battle scenes are definitely dramatic (indeed, Scotti has a good eye for visuals), but not exactly groundbreaking. However, it makes an incredibly valuable contribution by letting viewers hear the Marines themselves in their own unvarnished words. Truly, more F-bombs are dropped in Severe than smart bombs, by a factor of about a thousand, but it really gives the audience a sense of how they think.

There are three really unforgettable sequences in Severe (which is about three more than most films). The first is Scotti’s attitude rich explanation of what it means to be a Marine that is probably destined to become an internet sensation on youtube. The filmmaker tells us: “I believe every Marine is inherently loyal and a whole lot crazy,” and much more that I cannot quote here.

Perhaps even more memorable is Scotti’s touching tribute to a casual high school friend, whose death at the World Trade Center directly inspires his service. The third unforgettable scene captures an officer’s address to the 1st Battalion as they embark on the initial push into Iraq. If not St. Crispin’s Day, it is still quite stirring and every American can be proud of the sentiments expressed.

Most critics will probably focus on Scotti’s criticism of the war, particularly the dearth of WMDs in Saddam’s armories. Yet, that misses the human element of the film, which is what is most compelling about it. Ultimately, Severe is quite a moving tribute to Scotti’s fellow Marines who willingly fight and die for their country and each other. It opens this Friday (3/12) in New York at the Angelika.

The Way We Get By

It often seems like the War in Iraq divides Americans into two groups: those who want it to be another Viet Nam and those who do not. One group of Maine citizens (predominantly but not entirely senior citizens) is determined not to see the notoriously rude homecoming receptions that marked the Viet Nam War repeated for the soldiers currently returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Three of these troop greeters who faithfully see off departing troops and welcome home those returning from their tours of duty are profiled in Aron Gaudet’s poignant documentary The Way We Get By (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Bangor International Airport is the eastern-most full-service air field in the continental United States. It also happens to be blessed with long runways and clear airspace—perfect conditions for transatlantic flights. That is why so many military transports have come through Bangor and the steadfast greeters have been there for each and every one of them.

Presumably, access to his subjects was not a problem for Gaudet, since one of Way’s primary greeters is his mother Joan. Though she had previously been a near prisoner in her home during inclement weather for fear of falling, Gaudet now loyally answers the call regardless of the hour of night or the harshness of the climate. She feels a very personally connection to the troops because her own granddaughter Amy will soon deploy to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

For Jerry Mundy and WWII veteran Bill Knight, troop greeting is both a deeply significant form of service and an important social outlet. Both men still grieve for lost loved ones and contend with serious health concerns, but determinedly meet each new plane of troops as the filmmakers follow their own dramatic story arcs.

Way is a quiet movie that treats its subjects with respect. Its strongest moments show how complete strangers can make brief but meaningful connections. The audience frequently witnesses Knight thanking servicemen, only to have them turn it around and thank him for his service in North Africa during WWII, which they insist was a far worse tour of duty than the conditions they faced in the Middle East.

Director Gaudet largely keeps the proceedings non-partisan, though he does include some brief complaints about Pres. Bush and “mission accomplished” from Mundy. However, regardless of the feelings of Gaudet, Mundy, or any of the other Mainers, it is patently clear they really do support the troops.

Although the troops play an important role in Way, the focus is squarely on the three greeters and their motivations for doing what they do. It is an honest and legitimately moving film that takes seriously concepts like service, sacrifice, and patriotism. After many successful festival screenings, including this year’s G.I. Film Festival in Washington, D.C., Way opens this Friday (7/17) in New York at the IFC Film Center, with director Gaudet and producer-interviewer Gita Pullapilly present for Q&A following weekend screenings.

Friday Fight for Life

Sometimes, proceeds from special CDs or books have been donated to charitable organizations, but it seems quite rare for films to donate a part of their tickets sales. This is one of several reasons why Fighting for Life (trailer here) should not get lost in the shuffle of new releases when it opens in New York this Friday. American Film Foundation will donate ten percent of ticket sales of Fighting to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund, a 501(c)3 dedicated to assisting wounded servicemen with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). It is a fitting cause for the filmmakers of Fighting, a documentary about American military medical officers and the Uniformed Services University (USU) which trained a full quarter of the ranks.

The film itself is well worth seeing on its own merits. Shot by Academy-Award winner Terry Sanders, Fighting profiles true heroes of the American military—those fallen on the battlefield and the men and women dedicated to the healing them. If nothing else, viewers will be struck by the quality of the officers in the medical corps.

No doctor seen in the film comes across as a “House” and many of those serving at Ramstein A.F.B. in Germany seem particularly empathetic. Their patients typically do not stay long. They either stabilize them to travel to Walter Reade for long term care or perform the heartbreaking task of notifying a soldier’s family. Col. Rhonda Cornum explains:

“We don’t really get a lot of feedback. When we do get some, it is almost always an uplifting story, because you send somebody on . . . when they first came you thought: ‘man, I didn’t think this guy would make the flight, much less make it to tomorrow.’ Like the girl who walked out and got married, that gives you strength for another month.”

Each doctor interviewed in the film is indeed a graduate of USU, and we see the campus from the perspective of incoming students. The medical school provides unique battlefield simulation training for military doctors and also supports research projects designed to combat anthrax and other forms of weaponized bacterial agents. However, there were several attempts by the Clinton administration to close USU, successfully countered by the efforts of Sen. Inouye (D-HI) and others on the Hill. Bernadine Healy’s observation is worth noting in passing that had the Clinton attempt to close USU in 1997 been successful, its final class would have entered service shortly after 9-11.

As for bias in the film, the filmmakers scrupulously avoid issues surrounding Operation Iraqi Freedom. No commentator interrupts the action for a tirade against President Bush. The closest thing to a partisan slip might be the Springsteen song used by permission over the credits. Yet despite their nonpartisan efforts, it is difficult not to find the actions of the American military noble, as documented in Fighting. Particularly moving is the case of Omar, a three and a half year old Iraqi boy with thirty percent body burns, courtesy of Islamist terrorists. He becomes the focus of the tremendous care and compassion of the American military medical system, including some doctors and nurses visibly disturbed by the nature of his attack.

While Fighting only spends limited time with each doctor, it does focus on the rehabilitation of one soldier: Army Specialist Crystal Davis. What we see of her recovery and that of other Iraq veterans is inspiring. Lt. Col. Beth Ewing, RN probably best captures the spirit of the film when she says: “It’s a great mission to be on the life-saving end of things.”

Sanders, probably best known for Maya Lin: a Clear Strong Vision, had tremendous access to service personnel operating under extraordinary conditions. The drama that comes from those circumstances is very real. It opens in New York Friday at the Quad and in D.C. and Bethesda on the 14th. Again, tickets support the Woodruff Foundation, as well as the film.