Review of Body of War (2007) by Jared L — 17 May 2008

This latest entry in a long string of Iraqumentaries is also one of the best. At the same time, it's also difficult and painful to watch. Tomas Young opens up the most intimate details of his personal life and explicitly shows and describes the pain he lives with. Footage of his life is interspersed with the insipid echo-chamber "debate" which formed the decision-making process ending in the transfer of war powers to President Bush. The message is clear: the consequences of war, including the thousands of dead and injured soldiers, were all but entirely ignored in the march to Iraq. The experience of Tomas puts a human face on this result.

At the same time, the film faces some short-comings. It serves as an explicit call to activism but fails to note that most activism has been pretty ineffective. The turning of the tide against the war has more to do with internal decision-making than external protest. This is not to deny the value of protest, but to note its limitations.