I will admit to being a little wary of the “support our troops” context that goes with the turf of this film.  However, I must admit that after watching it on MPBN a bit back, I was glad I got past my preconceived notions and gave it a chance.  I really enjoyed it and found that the personalities that were profiled were very endearing and just absolutely enjoyable to watch.  Two thumbs up from this viewer.

The interesting thing for me was thinking about my own pre-hurdle of overcoming my reluctance to be drawn into a piece that might relate to the politics of the war in Iraq.  I believe in supporting our troop even if you are or are not in favor of our efforts, but that whole topic is often globbed up into one political ball, and it put me off.  In reality, the film has little to do with that political ball and it left me wondering whether the film makers adequately anticipated this dynamic (though I don’t pretend to believe that because this was an issue for me it was an issue for everyone) and what impact it had in the distribution of the film.

I also struggled with you they would have introduced it differently, because at the end of the day it is what it is, but how to bring people to the true focus of the film?

One of those interesting “I didn’t think I would like it but I did” experiences.

Greg R.

I agree it’s a well made film and enjoyed it on that basis. But I think it pretty much dances around the political and social elephants in the room and therefore left me uneasy. Three older, largely alone and unhealthy Mainers get meaning in their lives by “supporting the troops” involved in a war that is dubious at best? This is tragedy and I think the filmmakers blinked.