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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Body of War Documentary of Tomas Young Directors/Scriptwriters: Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue Music: Jeff Layton and Eddie Vedder Phil Donahue Enterprises/Mobilus Not rated but could be PG 13 Running Length: 87 minutes Tomas Young, Kansas City, Mo. was a young man eager to fight the Iraqi enemy after the events of 9/11. Unfortunately, Young was seriously injured in Iraq and came back paralyzed from the chest down. This searing documentary details his adjustment to life in a wheelchair, marriage, medical problems and going on a speaking tour concerning the Iraqi conflict. The documentary begins with Tomas getting dressed and the audience sees what all this involves. From there, we follow him through days of dealing with medical problems (bladder infections), using with a wheelchair, getting married, and his transformation into a speaker by way of speaking out at anti-war rallies, including those with Cindy Sheehan. Interspersed with the rallies, are visits to hospitals where help isn't always available right away, to telling the audience what it is like to not be able to cough. Since Young is paralyzed below the chest, those muscles aren't functional. There is near-constant pain and rapid rising and lowering of blood pressure to deal with. Young shows the camera what medications he must take daily in order to keep his body viable. From time to time, U.S. senators on both sides of the issue of going to war or refraining from war, are shown, and it has a domino effect. It seems as though the first person to popularize a saying has their colleagues falling in line with the same thought in their speeches. Senator Robert Byrd is the politician who consistently opposed the U.S. entry into Iraq and giving the president powers to do so. It is a meeting of minds when Young and Byrd are finally introduced. Young's mother tells us what it is like to have a wounded son at home with other members of the family getting ready to go to Iraq. One moment shown on camera is when the mother is helping the son with a catheter or when Young's wife has to cool him down with a ice vest when he has trouble regulating body temperature. Body of War is a film against the U.S. entry into Iraq. This POV is up front, but no matter what opinion you have about the Iraqi conflict, this film shows what happens when a soldier is severely wounded, what care is available, what support groups are there and that a man who didn't know he could publicly speak, can express his opinion with eloquence. Copyright 2008 Marie Asner
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