Badland

Finally managed to get a DVD of Badland and I'm so glad. It's a brave rendering of how war can torment those who have experienced it and how life is never the same once a veteran is back in 'normal life'. How this film has been passed over by 'mainstream' movie watchers is beyond me because it's incredible.

The cast is excellent, Jamie Draven is outstanding as Jerry and deserves no end of credit for taking on and shining in such a hard hitting and powerful main role. You feel for Jerry the whole way through, despite every decision he makes, everything he does and doesn't do. It's a long film but the character is so strongly played you cannot stop watching and physically need to know how it turns out. Joe Morton and Grace Fulton also deserve accolades in their roles.

The writing is great, the story is consistently strong and this film deserves to be seen. In addition, the scenery is beautiful.

The speech Jerry bellows at Max under the tree is harsh but seems to be pretty close to the mark...what better excuse is there? It happens over and over. I imagine that this is part of the reason a lot of people seem to have missed out on this amazing film - do critics feel this is too honest for the mainstream? Sad if so because there's a lot of unworthy ego-rubbing films that are seen by millions. Will we ever learn?

A fantastic, moving, dramatic film about the casualties--at home--of the Iraq War..The devastating impact of one returning veteran's spin out of control demonstrates with hurricane force the effects of the psychologically-wounding war on his entire family and all those he comes in contact with.

The majestic musical score heightens the tension, but provides a level of calmness and beauty to an otherwise gut wrenching and frantic story line.

Grace Fulton as Celina, the veteran's young daughter is wise beyond her years. She gives tender and lighthearted relief to her bleak circumstances . Exceptional performance.

Vietnam had Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now", Michael Cimeno's "Deerhunter" and Hal Ashby's "Coming Home".

Writer/Director Francesco Lucente has given dramatic voice and a (rare) classic take on our current "war of choice" You will think about the context of this film and will want to take another look. We certainly will.

Dudley & Josephine Foot

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

This powerful film has stayed with me for weeks, with its searing pain and wrecked, unforgettable beauty. As powerful as any war (or anti-war) story can be, it shows interior battle-fields. Memory is piled on memory - all mute - with tragic lack of healing, until desperation invades the soul and runs lives into heartbreak and ruin. The terrific cast is so deeply affecting because of the radiance within the main characters. The little girl is a wonder! Jerry and Max have a relationship which says more about current war than any overtly political statement.

Although the film is a long tour-de-force of emotion and drama, the bleakness of the circumstances is uplifted by a beautiful, dead-on score. Moments like long gazes at gorgeous skies, or exquisite background vocalises, drive home what could have been, and lift the film into an epic realm.

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.