The Dry Land

A ponderous message-movie that is pretty-much all drama (there is very little "lite" here). The Dry Land is a story of an Iraq war vet returning home to rural western Texas to the loving arms of his wife (America Ferrera -- TV's "Ugly Betty", Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) only to realize he cannot make things "right" in his mind with what occurred on the other side of the world.

He meets fellow soldiers and friends and tries to make peace; but the film depicts the folly of war. None of the actors do a poor job on this film and the subject matter is important. The Dry Land is a film one hates to criticize or put-down as I am afraid the criticism will be misconstrued. My problem(s) with the film are not the war or the actors on the screen ... this is simply an "average film" from an un-proved director (this is Ryan Piers Williams' first full-length production).

Humans aren't made to be killing machines without something inside each of us changing. For a brief time, it felt as if this was going to be yet another retread of the Americanized version of the Danish film Brothers; but it eventually steered itself into a different direction which was good. Saying that -- there really isn't much else to discuss about this quiet film.

Like it's title suggests ... the story doesn't meander like a river -- it is just all-out and flat. There is an expanse of land to look at and take in -- and that is what this film is all about. Look at war. Look at its problems. Look at its "solutions". Look at us. Look ...

In the first 20 minutes we get a graphic scene of a cow being shot through the head. Blood and mucus pour out her nose as she exhales her last breath. It's real (no props, cgi or animatronics). American Humane Association inspectors were not on hand because the production company never informed them of the scene (you can verify this at the AHA film rating website).

It may not make a difference to most viewers, but if you don't support films with actual animal killings & cruelty, steer clear of this one. I hear there's a later scene of a rabbit being shot, but I didn't bother sticking around for that. There are many reasons to kill, but entertainment is not one of them.

This Film is recommended for those who want to find out about PTSD and don't have a clue what this thing is, just that returning Soldiers suffer from this "Disease". Problem is after viewing this almost unbearably Melodramatic and manipulative Movie you might start developing symptoms of your own. It is that depressing.

Do we really need a Cancerous Mother, a traumatized, possible cheating Wife, a job in a Slaughterhouse with graphic bloodletting, a paraplegic Comrade who lets go a ridiculous metaphor, insensitive Family Members and co-workers, a standoffish and selfish Friend from his Platoon in Iraq, all to illustrate in-adaptability? There are more understated, over the top inclusions. This is all so heavy handed while pretending not to be.

This is blunt, pounding away without consideration for even the slightest bit of elation to enter this exercise in despair. If you are hit in the head enough times, even with a soft object, the result is a numbness. So it defeats the purpose to inspire awareness to the subject at hand and tragically the audience becomes Collateral Damage.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the source of many ongoing casualties of war. While not a condition restricted only to actual battle, the disorder has become increasingly well understood, even if not always well diagnosed and treated. The Dry Land explores the deep pain and disorientation that affects returning Iraq war veteran James as he tries to reacquire "normal" life in Texas. James becomes increasingly dysfunctional and desperate in the face of normal life.

The melancholic beauty of the film lies in the telling of this story through a highly personal struggle. We experience the effects on James' community of wife, extended family, friends, acquaintances, and others along the way. The horror of war is artfully portrayed without a single flashback to events in military service. This made the movie more effective as a probe into the actual effects of PTSD. We have seen plenty of war footage elsewhere, but not nearly enough of war's effects in day to day lives of the many victims. In reality, we are all the victims of war in one way or another. People like James pay an extremely high price, and our whole society in diminished through all the ripple effects.

The Dry Land exposes a reality of war that we all need to consider, and hopefully translate into action. James' family and friends are ineffective in all their efforts to help, the military appears in a reasonable but impotent light, and no answers are proposed. James really struggles alone despite attempts to lift him. Ultimately we likewise must struggle alone in many ways. The ancient Hebrew prophets cry out again and again against violence and injustice. We readily visualize the immediate effects of violence in blood and killing, but the entirety of the toll is much greater and deeper. "But they do not know how to do what is right," declares the LORD, "these who hoard up violence and devastation in their cities" (Amos 3:10). There is a devastation that still comes into our own cities, far from the killing fields of war. Will we ever count the real cost?

After a bad ambush in Iraq, a man (Ryan O'Nan) comes home to El Paso to settle back into marriage and a job at a slaughter house, but buried issues keep surfacing. He and an army buddy (Wilmer Valderrama) travel to another town to visit a wounded comrade at a VA hospital. America Ferrera plays his wife, Jason Ritter a friend and Melissa Leo his mother

"The Dry Land" (2010) is a drama about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which brings to mind "Coming Home" (1978), "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989), "In Country" (1989) and "The Lucky Ones" (2007).

This one plays down clichéd Hollywood-isms, keeping the story simple and totally realistic. It's a low-key, slice-of-life film depicting what it's really like for a common military guy to come home from a bad war experience in a distant land and most resembles "In Country," albeit on a lower budget.

It's simple and nothing to get overly excited about, but that's the way it was intended because that's the way it is for military guys like this. There are only a couple of lighter moments.

If you want a highly entertaining example of a similar story, check out "The Lucky Ones."

The film runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

GRADE: B-