"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" is an Oscar-nominated documentary made up almost entirely of journal entries and poems written by soldiers and marines in combat. Operation Homecoming was a program developed by the National Endowment For the Arts in which distinguished authors were sent to military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to teach soldiers and their families how to capture their experiences of war on paper. Ultimately, thousands of pages worth of personal reflections, in the form of essays, anecdotes and poems, were submitted to the project, only a very small handful of which could, by necessity, find their way into this film.If nothing else, "Operation Homecoming" serves as an invaluable tool documenting what life is like for the common fighting man toiling in the trenches of not only these two specific wars but of any armed conflict. Notably absent from the film are statements and speeches made by military strategists, politicians and world leaders whose views we hear expressed ad infinitum and ad nauseam throughout the course of any military action. In their place are the thoughts and words of the men and women on the front lines, who day after day confront the actual face of war.Through their essays and poems, these authors convey, with tremendous eloquence and insight, just what it means to live in near-constant fear of being injured or killed; or to see one's friends and comrades fall under a hail of bullets or be blown to smithereens by a detonated explosive; or to wrestle with the guilt of having snuffed out a fellow human being's life despite the fact that you've been raised from infancy to believe killing is wrong. As have many authors before them (Stephen Crane in "The Red Badge of Courage" comes first to mind), some of these writers show how the heroic idealism of a pre-war mindset can be instantly shattered when confronted with the brutal reality of life on the battlefield. For some, the writing has become almost a form of therapy, allowing them to process the experience in the hopes of eventually coming to terms with it all - if that's even possible.The movie provides battle footage, still photos, staged reenactments and animation sequences, along with interviews with the actual writers and other authors on the subject (i.e., Anthony Swofford, Tobias Wolff) to visually complement and supplement the readings, which are delivered respectfully and movingly by such trained actors as Robert Duvall, Beau Bridges and Aaron Eckhart.But all is not pure, unrelieved grimness. There is also a bit of gallows humor in the writing, designed to alleviate not only the stress of combat but the long stretches of intense boredom that are also, paradoxically, a part of life in the field. Indeed, there is probably not a single aspect of combat life that is not touched upon at some point in this film. It's that comprehensive.This movie takes the issue out of the realm of the abstract, clearing away all the jingoism and false bravado that often go into depictions of war. These are just real people telling us their real stories in their own words, and some of them are absolutely heartbreaking. Through its honesty and artistry, the film becomes a stirring tribute to each and every one of the fine young men and women who have risked their lives - and given their lives - in battle. No matter your personal feelings about these particular wars or of war in general, you won't look at any of it in quite the same way again after seeing "Operation Homecoming." And if you find yourself weeping - which you inevitably will - through the course of the film, you can do so without shame.

The director of this film Richard E. Robins has had experience in directing. He directed The Century: America's Time, volumes one through six. These films are narrated by Peter Jennings. Jennings and Robin's take Americans back through the last hundred years of the country and covers important happenings that America has experienced. Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience is part of the Operation Homecoming initiative. This initiative is from the National Endowment for the Arts to gather the writing of soldiers and their families who have been experienced the Afghanistan and Iraqi Wars. This film is comprised of American Soldiers stories as they fight the battles of war. The stories that the soldiers have written down are their own thoughts and emotions to the hostile situation that surrounds them. Each soldier that is filmed in this compelling documentary has his/her story transformed into a dramatization; this offers a deeper examination of their wartime experiences and brings their words to life.Operation Homecoming brings to the surface the actual experiences of a soldier and emotional tolls war plays on them. The soldiers write down their experiences for themselves and their families but also unconsciously to America, to let us know what is happening over in their world of war and fighting. War time literature helps illuminate many themes within the 60 minutes of this documentary. The day in the life of a soldier, the emotional and physical effects that war plays on armed forces, that war is not the pretty picture that some have painted it out to be, sometimes you have to do things that you do not always want to do, death and life, all these are themes are represented in this documentary. Those who are in the film are American soldiers who have gone through the wagging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They sit and tell the camera there stories and why they wrote. They are accompanied by older, established writers like Tim O'Brien and Tobias Wolff, who reflect on their experiences in Vietnam. While the interviews from those who have recently served in war provide a modern perspective, the words of the older writers give a more historical perspective. The editing in this film is very precise and accurate. It has to be in order to give the viewers a real sense of what the soldiers are saying. While the stories are being narrated pictures and scenes of war are being played, the pictures are put together in order to portray the story. One of the stories is portrayed through a cartoon, some are pictures, and some are real soldiers. The camera that is being used to film is held at eye level, straight on, no more than a few feet away from the interviewee. This gives the viewer a better feeling of closeness to the words the solider is saying. The camera backs away only to get shots of the interviewee's movements, body gestures, or the entire body; when the camera does this it is turned or adjusted at different angles, giving the viewer different perspectives of the interviewee. The lighting used during the interview takes a very natural setting. It isn't to dim or to bright. The frames are broken up into different questions that are being asked, after a seat of questions the last soldier interviewed story is told through narration. Music is used in the film to add to the dramatic stories being told. The music is all instrumental, and gives a deep serious tone. While the soldiers are talking before the camera, music faintly plays in the background to give way to the upcoming suspense of their stories.

This is simply a case of 11 men who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan sharing their experiences. There's no preaching here on either side, but rather an honest sharing. The words of the combatants themselves provide the power, but the visuals presented in a variety of ways including graphic novel type animation are outstanding. You will recognize voices in some of the narration, most recognizably Robert Duval. This was of course on of the Oscar nominees among documentaries and most definitely earned its nomination. However you may feel about the war, you will find the viewing of this film well worth your time. This and also NO END IN SIGHT are very welcome additions to the insightful views of the Iraq war and indeed of war in general.

I just saw this at a local screening and found out that it's going to show on PBS in April. If you didn't catch it in theaters, mark your calendars – it is an extremely compelling story of the Iraq war told through the eyes of the men and woman who've fought there. I first read about it in the New Yorker a couple of years ago – the National Endowment for the Arts sponsored this program where those fighting the war and their friends/families were encouraged to write letters chronicling their experience. Even on paper they were moving accounts and I believe actual writers and literary figures were involved to help mentor them, etc. This is like our generation's eye witness account of day to day life in Iraq and Afghanistan and having friends who are marines over there, this really hit me hard. The way the film shows the stories, I think, is very powerful and brings out the impact of the words – there are excerpts from each person's letter read over by celebrities (Robert Duvall and Josh Lucas were two I recognized), who really dramatize the situation told in the letters, and each section has different visual theme. Some are animated, some are reenactment of the story, or simply scenery from the war zone. It's more personal and heartfelt than any other war reporting I've seen through the media, even the embedded journalist and such, and I think everyone should check it out if they get a chance. Like I said, this will be shown on PBS later this spring as part of a series called America at a Crossroads (http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/) and there seem to be a companion piece to this film called Warriors that will also broadcast on April 16. Based on what I've seen here, I am planning on checking out to whole series, as it seems like the films will give a variety of perspectives into what we're facing in the war today.