Badland

Badland is a must for everyone. The film is harrowing and emotionally draining. It certainly packs a punch. Jamie Draven acts his part superbly as an anguished and desperate man- and his American accent is even passable! There is very much an atmosphere of claustrophobia and desolation running through the story that it is quite spine chilling in its effect.I believe this will have quite an impact on audiences on release. The only criticism might be that it is too long- there were scenes that could have been shortened. But the overall effect was spellbinding. Congratulations to Badland Films for a believable story brought to us with all the inherent pain and guilt that the main character portrays. His pain is deafening. Congratulations to Jamie Draven too- an ideal choice.

This movie stays with you, long after the end credits have rolled. It's the performance, the semi-documentary feel, the inspired by true events thing (it does feel real), the political and (anti-) war message it delivers and many other things (among them a very stunning lead performance).

It definitely isn't afraid to pull out all the stops and go for it. For this radical and brave choice(s) it makes, it will get either your admiration or your disbelieve. And with the latter also a bad review. While you can criticize the movie for quite a few things (patriotic it ain't for once), you can't deny it's impact! While the structure might seem a little bit strange (even chaotic if you want to call it that) and it seems not to have a particular goal, this might indeed be the message the movie has for the viewer ...

This is a movie that will not let you off the hook easily. It requires time and thought to process it all. It leaves you angry, sad, shaken. It above all things leaves you asking "Why?". And you will not feel satisfied.

Some reviews exactly portray this reaction, in all possible facets, from bad to good.

This movie feels so scarily real. It shows the human ability of phasing out reality, even the worst kind. It shows love that feels so honest as if you were part of this movie.

I really like that this movie had a European feeling to it:

No fast cuts, no fast paced story telling.

This movie gives you time to watch the unbelievable story unwrap, to the bitter end. It makes you think a lot, without feeling kitschy. This is no light popcorn movie. There are not many dialogs, as the eyes and the faces of the main actors can convey more than words could ever do.

I recommend this movie to all people with an open mind.

I do not recommend it for people that are overly patriotic, or in some way are too close to this topic. You will be angry, and by all means will not like this movie.

I do believe this was a well intentioned movie and I'm very hesitant to pick on a movie that tries to draw attention to the mental health issues Veterans might have. I feel like the writer(s) and director got some stuff right, the music was good, and the acting was decent. The little girl really did the best job overall. The cinematography was excellent. I won't get into whether the vets particular behaviors are accurate as everyone is different, w different experiences and reactions. I do wish that any movie w military subject matter would hire a knowledgeable advisor.

Diner scene- First off, Marines, or anyone in the military generally don't galavant around town in their "cammies" or bdus when off duty. But this is forgivable. What isn't is the uniform the one "Marine" is wearing was laughable. First of all, the pattern was waaaay out of date- it was only used from like 90-91and is actually kind of scarce. It had No rank, No name tapes, no EGA, no US Marines, nothing. The USMC patch wasn't issue, or even close. The uniform was brand new- it did not just return from a deployment or any type of use. Also his cover (hat) wasn't even military issue, much less USMC issue. This sounds nitpicky but trust me, it's not. This is easy stuff to get right. I mean, was there anyone at all w military experience editing or pre screening this stuff?

Also, I was thinking more of a First Blood type movie- what I got was a kinda boring drama w almost no action. Anyhow, not a bad movie, I just wish they'd done a few things differently. It could've been very good but just was ok.

This is a quite long film (almost 3 hours) but you don't really see the time pass by as it is very poignant and gripping. The scenario is well constructed, acting is excellent as well as film direction. There are some glitches (like a wound in the girl's hand that appears completely healed in a scene then is shown again with a bloody plaster on it in the next one) but they are very minor.

Overall, it is an excellent film about the traumatic and dramatic results of war on the psyche and life of American soldiers when they come back to the States. Jamie Draven plays the role of Jerry, an American soldier who has tremendous difficulties to adjust to normal life again. To make matters worse, his wife thinks he is an a**hole, they live in a sordid home and environment with three children and a fourth one is in the womb. Jerry commits something tragic (can't say what… would be a spoiler) and as a consequence, engages in a drama-laden trip in his homeland with a constant refusal to accept full redemption leading to a tragic end for the only thing that could have saved him from himself (can't say what again;-)

The penultimate flash scene could have been removed as it unrealistically questions the whole story's existence. Whereas the whole film could shock audiences, that scene tries to come back on that jolt like they were not so sure about going the full length. Anyway, fortunately it was a very short scene which you could choose to ignore