I wept my way through this movie at the Bloor Cinema last night, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. "Body of War" is a powerful film - moving, provocative, truth-telling. Through the story of one wounded veteran who becomes a peace activist, you get a glimpse into the US peace movement, the realities of paraplegia and the US government who made it all possible.
"Body of War" is a must-see for anyone who still thinks the Republicans are responsible for the invasion of Iraq. They couldn't have done it without their willing partners. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that this part of the movie was especially well done.
As you know, I was very concerned with the disability aspect of this movie, how Tomas Young's paralysis and recovery would be portrayed.
I often say that when you see someone who uses a wheelchair, you might think their only issue is that they can't walk - that they are merely sitting down. Spinal cord injury, especially a traumatic injury like a gunshot, is much more complicated. The film does an excellent and unsparing job at showing what it means to be paralyzed.
On the other hand, using a wheelchair doesn't mean a life of dependency, depression and lack of purpose. In the movie, Young is still finding his independence and his life's meaning, much of which comes from the veteran peace movement. In one excellent scene, Young meets Bobby Muller, a peace activist and a long-time advocate for disabled veterans. Muller has used a wheelchair since his Vietnam War injury, and is, obviously, an independent and integrated person with a disability. I was very grateful for the inclusion of that.
Muller tells Young that he's been grievously shortchanged on his rehab. It's revealed that Muller was in a rehab hospital for a full year, then did outpatient work for many months after that. Young was in the hospital for three months.
In fact, this is what I repeatedly heard in my recent research for the new edition of Spinal Network. Private insurance in the US now covers only the tiniest basics of rehab. People with new, life-changing disabilities are leaving rehab barely healed and completely unprepared. This is horrible - for anyone. For a person paralyzed in a useless, political, profit-soaked war, it's horrible taken to another level of magnitude.
One of the heroes of "Body of War" is Young's mother. She's a fierce, smart woman who knows the truth about the war - the truth about her government - and through her injured son, she becomes active in the peace movement. On a peace march, with Military Families Speak Out and Gold Star Families For Peace, Young's mother notices that people who have lost children in the war want to speak to Tomas, want to touch him. In a heartbreaking scene (one of many), a woman holding a sign reading "President Bush, you killed my son," tells Tomas she is grateful that he made it home alive.
Another poignant scene is Young's meeting with Senator Robert Byrd, a senior US Senator, who tried in vain to stop Congress from authorizing unlimited war powers to Bush. Byrd's attempts to slow the mad rush to invasion is an indelible memory for me. I remember circulating his speech. I remember how angry we were, how powerless we felt. He is one of the heroes of this movie.
* * * *
If you live in the GTA and weren't able to come to last night's screening, the War Resisters Support Campaign is hoping to hold two more showings of "Body of War". All proceeds will go towards our legal fight to keep US war resisters in Canada.
We did well last night, thanks in large part to Andrew Arrigo, who organized the event, and key members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and other war resisters.
But fighting the Government on a case-by-case basis is draining our resources, which of course is the point. So while we fight in court to keep every US war resister in Canada, we must continue to work for a political solution. When Parliament reconvenes next week, please make sure your MP knows this is important to you.
* * * *
Interview with Tomas Young and Eddie Vedder; Bill Moyers interviews Tomas Young.
No comments:
Post a Comment