Joe's War

Joe's War tells the story of a returning two tour soldier coping with the horrors of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). It tackles the hard realities surrounding PTSD in an honest, hometown way.

The Staten Island/Brooklyn feel and real world display of compassion and love so native to that area and it's people help keep the story moving. The musical score fits perfectly.

Props to the writer for his passion portraying an issue which deserves attention.

The acting was above par, with my highest ratings going to Armand Assante, Michael Markiewicz, and Lois Vanaria.

Good special effects and the uniforms were pretty much accurate, but once again, Holly is selling the liberal thought that all G.I.s are suffering from PTSD and just human time bombs waiting to go off. This is unacceptable to those of us who have seen heavy combat and survived with the tools most of us have at hand. Seeing folks like Ed Asner in any role in a movie about war is a dead giveaway it will be a pure propaganda piece.

If you enjoy action movies just for the explosions, you're fine, but if you are a history nut, or even a veteran...I suggest you move on. As Gen Patton said..."These folks know as little about war, as they do about fornicating".

This movie demonstrates an all too often repeated tragedy. Our military people suffer for years after service. Sometimes for life. More attention needs to be brought to this subject and our military.

Joe's war is an engaging story of the struggle of a veteran who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. The film captures the tensions Joe experiences in his relationships with family, friends, Doctor and a fellow patient whose parallel arc depicts an upward path to recovery. The film effectively pulls the viewer in, and one can not help but identify with the supporting characters as they struggle to help Joe re-integrate into society, and fight the evolving alienation that surrounds him. The tension in Joe's war builds to a climax which brilliantly portrays the tragic and sometimes violent nature of post-traumatic stress and the senseless destruction it causes in the lives of the afflicted and those who are connected to them. Everyone has a "Joe" in their life at some point, and Joe's War deals with this important topic in a direct and poignant way. This film points out that our society has done little to truly help PTSD victims and serves as an urgent call to action on this devastating illness.

I would just like to say that this film delivers on many complex issues facing our Veterans. It is nice to see that it was done tastefully. The writers seem to be very respectful of the US Veterans. They took on a tough subject matter and have opened my eyes to what some of these kids are going through.

Kudos to the team effort on this film. Many great supporting roles. Tina Grimm, Louis Vanaria, Anthony Gallo, Robert Kirk, all familiar faces. And let's not forget the talents of the lead Michael Markiewicz along with Joe Lisi and the greats Armand Assante, Ed Asner and Tom Sizemore... All in all a really good and very touching movie A++