The Good Soldier (2009)

73% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(102 ratings)

From the opening footage spanning decades of combat action, it is apparent no audience will be spared the pain experienced by the subjects of Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys's documentary: this disturbing, deeply affecting look at war through the eyes of American veterans provides extraordinary… More From the opening footage spanning decades of combat action, it is apparent no audience will be spared the pain experienced by the subjects of Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys's documentary: this disturbing, deeply affecting look at war through the eyes of American veterans provides extraordinary perspective for civilian viewers. Five men who fought variously in World War II, Vietnam, and the Middle East talk about combat in a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact way that gives horrifying new meaning to the term "brutal realities." These are not masters of atrocity - they are good men who went to war to serve their country. There, they were taught to kill - it was their job; only later, sometimes much later, did it come back to haunt them, filling them with anger and regret. Which is not to say the veterans speak with one voice; from the tightly uniformed, professional soldier to the Marine who does penance by carrying a sign in public confessing to acts of murder in Iraq, their outlooks and coping methods vary. But each man brings his own authentic insight to the story, helping to create a tableau that is as hard to turn away from as it is to watch. Surprisingly free of self-pity and blame, they soldier on in the path of awareness - just as the film itself eschews melodrama as a matter of respect for the searing honesty of its subjects.

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Lexy Lovell, Michael Uys
Written By: Lexy Lovell, Michael Uys
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Television, Special Interest

In Theaters: Oct 9, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Apr 24, 2007
Studio: Artistic License

Critic Reviews

V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Has important things to say. Sadly, it does so in an unexciting manner.
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times
A film whose benign-sounding title and Veterans Day release give a false impression of what it actually is: an attack on the military, drenched in blood.
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Avoids preaching to the choir, though perhaps only the choir will attend.
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
Potent and wisely straightforward.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Soldiers tell us the cost of killing
Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters
The familiar format helps to underscore what's extraordinary about these stories, the fear and indignity felt by the soldiers.
Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt
The humane portrayals make it worthwhile, if unspectacular, viewing.
Matthew Nestel, Boxoffice Magazine
Their wars differ but their tales are eerily identical. Their material is arresting, with troves of detailed memories pouring out for the first time.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A provocative, vital, honest and profoundly moving documentary.
Nicolas Rapold, Time Out New York
An explicitly antiwar conclusion unwisely makes the grim focus feel like a bias, but the power of the interviews makes one wish for more stories, not fewer.
Kam Williams, Sly Fox
Co-directors Lexy Levell and Michael Uys deserve a 21-gun salute for fashioning a sobering antidote to all that patriotic claptrap about serving God, country and apple pie.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Deeply affecting antiwar documentary arriving just at the right moment with Obama planning to send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan and just after the senseless massacre at Fort Hood.
Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Unlike, for example, Errol Morris's recent works, it doesn't bother to buttress the eye-opening firsthand accounts with a coherent historical argument.
Jennifer Merin, About.com
This profoundly provocative film has the potential to change society's attitude towards and acceptance of war. It is extremely important that it be seen as widely as possible.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
A well-intentioned but uninvolving anti-war documentary.