Hell And Back Again DVD
Starring: Nathan Harris, Ashley Harris, Christian Cabaniss, Eric Meador, Edward Hubbard
Director: Danfung Dennis
Staring: 4/5
We have seen many movies over the years that have tackled the subject on the war on terror - some have been a triumph while others, quite frankly, have been down right awful.
Hell and Back Again is a documentary from filmmaker Danfung Dennis that looks at the dangers American soldiers face in Afghanistan as well as the fight the soldiers face back at home.
Embedded with an American Marine Company in Afghanistan, Dennis captures a brutally personal depiction of combat life through the eyes of 25-year old Marine Sergeant Nathan Harris.
Hell And Back Again cuts back and forth between the Marines battling the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and Nathan Harris in recovery at home after he is severely injured by a bullet through the hip.
Distressed and in immense physical pain we follow Nathan as he attempts to reconcile the addictive nature of wartime violence with the terrifying normalcy of home.
Hell And Back Again is war documentary that packs a lot of punch and is not afraid to show how it really is.
The movie is shot on a hand held camera and it really does give the audience the feel of being in the middle of the action on the front line. It captures the immediacy, intensity and fear in a fire fight that no movie has ever been able to depict.
Dennis is not interested in painting the American soldier as heroes and so on it is a movie that shows them just doing their job - and paying for it.
He has no political agenda is just wants to portray the realities of war both on the front line and back at home.
And the scenes that follow Harris on the rehabilitation path are just as powerful as those in Afghanistan as he struggles to get his life back together.
He is clearly haunted by what he has seen and experienced and the movie captures the internal conflict that he goes through on a daily basis.
Granted this is not the most cheery and uplifting movies that you will ever watch but it’s one that everyone should see to understand the devastating effects that war has on those who are brave enough to fight it.
Hell And Back Again is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw