Film Bites

Arriving home alive from any war is a soldier’s dream come true. Decorated hero, SSgt. Brandon King(Phillippe) finally gets to realize that dream. After arriving home to Texas from his tour in Iraq, he gets to try to return to a normal life. Obviously, not everyone deals with the transition home as easily as Brandon does. Some suffer from PTSD worse than others. Some drink heavily to try to forget; others can’t handle being home and imagine themselves back in the desert.

Brandon’s transition home is a slow one, as it is for everyone, until he’s informed he’s been stop-lossed; he’s being redeployed. Understandably, Brandon is furious. He served his time honorably, now the Army is breaking their agreement and forcing him to go back. Questioning the very meaning of duty, Brandon’s life is turned upside-down when he must decide whether to honor himself and fight his orders, or concede to his superiors and their demands.

Stop-Loss is a war movie that isn’t about war. It’s about the love of families and friends. It’s about the destruction of trust and honor that is the result of war. It’s about the choices a soldier must make when deciding whether it is worth endangering their lives by returning to the front-lines.

Stop-Loss is also a social commentary. It questions the sacrifice that American’s make when sending their best and brightest back into war. Who fronts the burden of loss when soldiers come back not to a parade, but to a funeral? Why do some not realize that the only way to support the troops is to bring them home?

A thought provoking and emotional film, Stop-Loss carries a young but talented cast, as well as a visionary director. Well worth a watch, this film should be immortalized as a truism of the facts of war. Sadly, in a society where war is glorified, Stop-Loss is a film which exposes the fleshy under-belly of war, something many people won’t take kindly to.