Body of War (2007, 2008)

The US Government and the War in Iraq

Body of War is a documentary film about the US government and the war in Iraq. The controversial topic is covered by focusing on a single casualty, the disabled veteran Tomas Young who was shot and wounded in Iraq in 2004. The film, which premiered in 2007, was released on DVD in 2008. Here is some basic information about it:

** Title: Body of War

** Subtitle: The True Story of an Anti-War Hero

** Produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro

** Original songs composed and performed by Eddie Vedder (who is a member of Pearl Jam)

** Run time: 87 minutes

There are two story-lines in this film:

The first, which we can call the past, takes place in October 2002. In this line we follow the congressional debate about the joint resolution to go to war against Iraq. There are clips of politicians in both chambers. There are also some clips of President Bush who tries to explain why the US must go to war against Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

The second, which we can call the present, takes place in 2005 and 2006. In this line we follow Tomas with family and friends. His family includes his mother Cathy Smith and his brother Nathan Young. We also see him taking part in public demonstrations against the war in Iraq. He talks about his medical and physical problems. He also talks about the war in Iraq and explains why he is against it.

The two story-lines are intertwined. The film flips back and forth between the past (2002) and the present (2005-2006) all the way from the beginning to the end.

REGARDING THE PAST

The clips with the politicians are edited and arranged in a clever way: first we see President Bush making two specific statements. Then we see some politicians (mostly senators) making the same two statements, often using the very same words. After this we see Bush again, this time making two new statements. Then we see some politicians making the same two statements, often word for word.

This montage is very revealing. It shows that these politicians have no real independence. They do not think for themselves. They merely repeat the words of the president. They trust him completely. They do not question “the great leader.”

A few politicians spoke out against the president. One of them is Senator Robert Byrd (1917-2010) who was a member of the US senate for many years (1959-2010). At the time he was the longest serving US Senator in the history of the US.

There are several clips with Byrd who held a very long speech (known as a filibuster) in an attempt to convince his fellow members to say no the president. In the end, it was not enough. The resolution was adopted by both chambers.

In the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, the votes were 296 yes and 133 no. In the upper chamber, the US Senate, the votes were 77 yes and 23 no. Most of yes-votes came from Republicans, while most of the no-votes came from Democrats (such as Byrd).

REGARDING THE PRESENT

When we see Tomas, he explains how he was wounded in Iraq on 4 April 2004. A US convoy was moving through Sadr City. Tomas and several other soldiers were told to sit in the back of a truck which had no protection on the sides or on the roof.

[The US army spent millions of dollars on the war, but the army could not afford to protect the soldiers that were sent out to fight this war. They made them sit in an open truck, while driving through enemy territory.]

As the truck drove down a street in Sadr City, Iraqi snipers who were waiting on the roof tops had an easy target. Some soldiers were killed, while Tomas and several others were wounded. He had only been in Iraq for five days!

After the attack, he was transferred to a hospital in Kuwait, and later to a hospital in Germany. Finally, after several months, he was transferred to a hospital in the US. After a while he was released in a wheelchair.

When he is able to speak and to move around, he joins an organisation called “Iraq Veterans against the War.” When some people ask him if he would be against the war in Iraq if he had not been shot, his answer is this: he was against the war in Iraq, even before he was sent there.

He joined the army in 2001, because he wanted to revenge the attack on the twin towers in New York. He did not understand why the US wanted to go to war against Iraq, since this country had not attacked the US. He wanted to go to Afghanistan. He did not want to go to Iraq, but the army sent him there anyway.

Tomas speaks openly and honestly about his medical and physical problems as a disabled veteran. He says the Veteran Administration does not care much about the veterans. The US government is prepared to spend millions of dollars on wars, but it does not want to spend any real money to help the veterans who are disabled in these wars.

In 2005 he married his fiancée Brie Townsend, but the marriage did not last long. In 2006 they separated and in 2007 they were divorced.

REVIEWS

What do reviewers say about this film? I will quote two short reviews. The first is a positive review which offers 88 percent (TV Guide):

“Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro’s powerful documentary takes a microcosmic look at the war (in Iraq) and its devastation by focusing on a single casualty.”

The second is a negative review which offers only 25 per cent (Kyle Smith in the New York Post):

“Lazy, shallow and repetitive, Phil Donahue’s Body of War is one of the most incompetent documentaries to emerge from the Iraq war.”

While I understand the former review (TV Guide), I cannot understand the latter review (New York Post).

On Metacritic the film has a rating of 60 per cent, which corresponds to three stars on Amazon. On IMDb it has a rating of 78 per cent; on Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 79 per cent. Both ratings correspond to (almost) four stars on Amazon. If you ask me, all these ratings are too low.

On the US version of Amazon there are 29 reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.5 stars. If you ask me, this average rating is much more appropriate. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars. Why?

This film is not pleasant to watch. Some scenes are painful to watch. But it is an important film, which has an important message. Tomas Young has something to say and he says it very well.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Tomas spoke out, as much as he could, but now he does not speak anymore: he has passed away. When we see him in the film, in 2005 and 2006, he is still partly mobile. And he is able to do many things by himself. His life is hard, but he does not give in; he does not give up.

Later, his health began to deteriorate. By 2013 he was almost totally helpless. He could not do much by himself. He wanted to die, but decided to hang on for a while in order to say goodbye to the world and in order to give friends and supporters a chance to say goodbye to him.

In 2012 he married again. His second wife Claudia Cuellar stayed with him until the end. He passed away in November 2014; shortly before his 35th birthday; he was only 34 years old.

Watch this film! It will make a big impression on you. It will give you something to think about. Since much of the film is rather sad, I cannot say you will enjoy it, but I do think you will be able to appreciate it.

PS # 1. The following items are available online:

** Chris Hedges, “The Crucifixion of Tomas Young,” Truth Dig, 10 March 2013

** “Dying veteran’s call for accountability – an interview with Tomas Young’s wife Claudia Cuellar,” Conscious Life News, 2 April 2013

PS # 2. When Tomas died, several newspapers published an obituary. I will mention only one of them, the obituary published by the newspaper of his home town: Mary Sanchez, “Tomas Young was a casualty of war and a voice of reason,” Kansas City Star, 11 November 2014.

PS # 3. Tomas Young’s War by Mark Wilkerson was published by Haymarket Books in 2016. This book is based on several interviews with Tomas and people who were close to him.

PS # 4. The Long Road Home by Martha Raddatz (2007, 2008) focuses on the attack on the US convoy in Sadr City on 4 April 2004 during which Tomas and several others were wounded. The book has been adapted to the screen. A miniseries with eight episodes will be shown on US television (Nat-Geo) later in 2017.

PS # 5. Ralph Nader, who met Tomas in 2004, did not forget him. When Tomas died, Nader issued a statement which includes the following passage:

“In the annals of military history, moral courage is much rarer than physical courage, in part because of the long-lasting sanctions against dissenters and those who speak truth to power about the faults in our own society. Tomas Young had both moral and physical courage. His example should be heeded by young soldiers in the future who are ordered by their gravely flawed politicians to make the ultimate sacrifice for their leaders’ illegal follies and ambitions.”

PS # 6. If you like Body of War about the US government and the war in Iraq, you may also like Reg, a movie about the British government and the war in Iraq. The title refers to Reg Keys, whose son Tom was killed in Iraq in June 2003. The movie was shown on British television (BBC) and released on DVD in 2016.

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 Tomas Young, US war veteran (1979-2014)

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