Two Iraq War Movies Not to Miss, both about PTSD

Two Iraq War Movies Not to Miss
Posted: 1/12/12
Peter Van Buren
Fmr. State Department Iraq PRT Leader

James Spione's Incident in New Baghdad, now on the shortlist for an Academy Award nomination this year as best documentary, tells the story of Army Specialist Ethan McCord's dramatic first-hand experiences on the scene. Specialist McCord was an infantryman sent to the site of the massacre, where he encountered two Iraqi children, horribly wounded but still alive. McCord killed no one, never even fired his weapon that day, but found himself forever changed by what he saw among the dead and dying. Anger, confusion and guilt combined; call it Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).

Nick Brennan's A Marines Guide to Fishing is a second important Iraq War film to see. Fictional as opposed to Incident's documentary format, Brennan told me in an interview that "I do think this story is stronger and unique as a work of fiction because it provides for a certain level of separation and dramatization that you don't get in documentary work, as well as allowing me to incorporate the stories of dozens of vets I met with during research." The film stars Matthew Pennington, an Iraq vet himself in a first acting role. Pennington is a victim of PTSD, seeking understanding by re-experiencing as an actor his own trauma.
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A Marine's Guide to Fishing - Trailer from Nicholas Brennan on Vimeo.