What it’s about
Richard Robbins's innovative documentary brings to life the highly personal, unalloyed, firsthand accounts of war on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan. Actors Duvall, Bridges and Eckhart give human voice to the letters, poems, and diary entries of soldiers assessing their lives in the face of death. Whether recounting key lessons and experiences from their past, or the more recent and rigorous challenges of training and deploying, director Robbins evokes each narrative using a variety of cinematic styles, including still photography, live reenactment, and animation, creating a unique portrait of the wartime experience — and those who endure it.
Why we love it
This Academy Award-nominee takes a slightly unorthodox approach to capturing the rich memories and complex emotions of our troops in harms way — and scores a direct hit. By building its impact from the personal reflections and attitudes of each individual, “Homecoming” bypasses surface commentary to peer deep into the soul of the soldier. Robbins proves a highly inventive and versatile filmmaker, with a keen instinct for which visual technique will best tell each story; he also assembled an ideal crew of voice actors to help make his experiment soar. Don't miss this unflinching and affecting look at war and service in all its alternating horror and glory.