Critic Reviews

• Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

  Operation Homecoming never quite captures anything so poignant or precise, rather falling into seemingly endless variations of 'war is hell.'

• Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

  It provides an illuminating portrait of the mind-set of those men and women serving overseas.

• Kyle Smith, New York Post

  The anthology format would fit better on TV, as would director Richard E. Robbins' unfortunate use of cheesy slo-mo re-enactments. When Robbins flickers through a series of photos of the fallen, the rapid cutting becomes absurd and dehumanizing.

• Stephen Holden, New York Times

  Operation Homecoming is a spinoff from an anthology of essays, e-mail messages, poems and letters from soldiers in Iraq.

• Ronnie Scheib, Variety

  The sometimes uneven quality of the imagery serves to highlight the shattering honesty of these barings of the soul.

• Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

  Operation Homecoming at first seems like a modest enterprise, a document of a few guys' paths to personal catharsis. But the sense of damaged intensity found in all these men's writing builds to a powerful crescendo.

• Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

  Robbins war documentary is for the spectator to come to terms with what's occurring on the battle field and it gives a wonderful impartial view of the current war...

• Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope

  The prose and poetry of the soldiers is striking in its power.

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  Unique and emotionally moving documentary.

• Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

  Robbins' docu, initiated by the NEA, tries to convey the subjective feeling and thoughts of soldiers through their writing, be they letters, poems, or stories. By necessity, this collection, which is read by pro actors, is varied in interest and quality.

• Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City

  A different approach from more straightforward Iraq War documentaries. And the film definitely has effective moments, especially those dealing with grief and the rough transition from military to civilian life.

• Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

  They're stories of war that resonate with anyone who has ever been in a war zone, and they illustrate beautifully for those who have not seen battle, just what combat can do to a person's soul.

• Eric Monder, Film Journal International

  Flaws aside, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience has much value, both as an artistic and historical document.

• Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette

  When is a documentary NOT a documentary? When it's this. Definately worth a look.

• , AV Club

  The cumulative effect of Operation Homecoming is to bring to light the soldiers' collective experiences and the enduring nightmares they suffer in our place.

• Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt

  A sobering reminder that war is more than smartly-dressed politicians exchanging barbs about what's best for America.

• Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

  Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience is an eloquent manifestation of the notion articulated in John Fowles's The Magus that "It is not countries that go to war, but men."

Read all 17 critic reviews