Soldier's Heart

Soldier's Heart is a movie about a Vietnam veteran's life after returning from the War, and deals with his experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a condition many soldiers face today as they try to pick up their lives again after serving in Iraq and other war torn countries. The main character, Elliot, finds it hard to cope after the war. His wife is recovering from Cancer, he is out of work and he is forced to take on a job he hates selling a product nobody wants so that he can pay the bills. He has relationship problems with his wife and with his father. At intervals throughout the movie, we see Elliot being interviewed for a documentary about his experiences in Vietnam. As he answers the tough questions about his time there, we begin to understand his emotional roller coaster existence. This movie illustrates the importance of talking about the horrors of war rather than keeping them bottled up inside. With the support of his wife and best friend, and the healing process of making that documentary, we find that Elliot's life turns around. There is hope for the hurting. I loved the movie because of the message. I highly recommend it to soldiers, veterans, and their families. I only wish that my own husband, who was a Vietnam Veteran, had lived to see it. Maybe it would have helped him to open up to me about his own experiences. But sadly he passed away before this film was completed.

I've become a tough audience in my old age, having been an actor and now a writer, so it's rare that I watch a movie and don't groan thinking how much better a job I could've done. But sitting in HBO Studios last night watching Brian Delate's "Soldier's Heart," I was so genuinely moved by his story that my girlfriend, who can read my mind, checked me half-a-dozen times for tears. It's difficult to see a story so simply and honesty told and not be disarmed, especially in an age of concept, formula, and landscapes full of exploding cars. What gets blown up in Delate's movie are the inner lives of its main characters. Delate himself watches over them in the supporting role like a big brother, firm but never judging, patiently nudging them through war, cancer, unemployment, terrible (and hilarious) financial investments, death of loved ones, until finally--and this is what I really took away from the film--burned clean in the fires of their pain, they toss the ashes of their past, their sins, their loss, shame, resentments and regrets, into the ocean and turn their faces toward the new morning sun. The film is akin to a dramatized meditation on how to live beyond one's regrets.

I was moved by the keyhole view into the lives of veterans who'd returned home from Vietnam, where things were anything but normal. They were suffering from isolation and depression and were coping by dissociating and shutting down. They couldn't relate well to those around them -- including their loved ones. It shows the ripple effect of the emotional scars left after a man experiences fighting in a war. I had a lump in my throat throughout much of the movie -- empathising deeply with the main character. The relationship between he and his wife shows a very deep love but despite both trying hard to reach each other the vet's PTSD from his tour in Vietnam is an intrusive character in their marriage. There were times in the film where the main character's eyes looked haunted and it was gripping. My heart goes out to every soldier that ever fought in a war. I do hope that this movie reaches many veterans and helps them feel less alone. This is obviously a very timely topic. A must-see movie!