HOME FRONT
Price: $210.00 Code: 2250 |
Directed by Richard Hankin
2006, 93 Minutes
Purchase: $210 | Classroom Rental: $125
*Closed Captioned*
Three and a half years in to the war in Iraq, most media reports about the war focus solely on either the death toll or the political divisions within America. What continues to be overshadowed are the untold stories of the increasing numbers of those severely wounded soldiers who are returning home after serving in combat—only to start a different battle.
To date, nearly 20,000 American troops have been wounded in the war in Iraq. Home Front gives a face and a voice to these underrepresented soldiers and their families, told intimately through the Feldbusch family of Western Pennsylvania, and their wounded, son Jeremy.
Soon after the start of the war, 23-year old Army Ranger Jeremy Feldbusch is hit by a piece of shrapnel that slices into his head just above his right eye and lodges in his brain, leaving him completely blind. Further, he suffers considerable damage to his frontal lobe, impairing his impulse control and making him prone to unpredictable mood swings and seizures.
Home Front captures the human story of Jeremy's return to civilian life in his small hometown, and his subsequent readjustment to family, community—and most importantly, his new, altered self. The result is an unprecedented and insightful view of how one family copes with events that have changed them forever. By turns heartbreaking and inspiring, Home Front gets behind the often-sanitized myth of war to reveal its true complications and costs.
"An exceptional and compelling look at the costs of war." - LA Times
“Indelible… Home Front is a picture not only of Mr. Feldbusch but also of the rural, staunchly pro-war society (reminiscent of the world of The Deer Hunter) to which he returns to become a devoted activist working for veterans’ welfare. In this unsentimental, apolitical film, Jeremy emerges as a hero, as do the stoic working-class people around him. No matter how one views the war in Iraq, these are men and women of rock-solid character and courage.” - Stephen Holden, The New York Times
“Alarmingly valuable” - Jessica Winter, Village Voice
“Terrific! A lucid knockout of a movie! Hankin’s directorial virtues include patience, pace, and structure, and an eye for external details that reveal inner strength. But, paramount is his ability to see beyond his preconceptions-and thus shaking the audiences out of theirs.”- Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
“A powerful look at the personal cost of war.” - Eugene Hernandez, Indiewire
“This is an important film, providing a human face to an all too often overlooked part of war’s complications. It should spark discussion in any group showing, from high school social science classes to civic organizations and veterans groups. Highly recommended.” – Educational Media Reviews Online
"Highly Recommended! A stinging condemnation of the brutality of war. Three-and-a-half stars [out of four]!" - Video Librarian
"Home Front is not overtly pro-war or antiwar. Richard Hankin, the director, knows that nobody feels good about the situation of a young Army ranger from small-town Pennsylvania who comes home from Iraq blind and finds that the support system for wounded veterans like him is far from perfect." - Anita Gates, The New York Times
2006, 93 Minutes
Purchase: $210 | Classroom Rental: $125
*Closed Captioned*
Three and a half years in to the war in Iraq, most media reports about the war focus solely on either the death toll or the political divisions within America. What continues to be overshadowed are the untold stories of the increasing numbers of those severely wounded soldiers who are returning home after serving in combat—only to start a different battle.
To date, nearly 20,000 American troops have been wounded in the war in Iraq. Home Front gives a face and a voice to these underrepresented soldiers and their families, told intimately through the Feldbusch family of Western Pennsylvania, and their wounded, son Jeremy.
Soon after the start of the war, 23-year old Army Ranger Jeremy Feldbusch is hit by a piece of shrapnel that slices into his head just above his right eye and lodges in his brain, leaving him completely blind. Further, he suffers considerable damage to his frontal lobe, impairing his impulse control and making him prone to unpredictable mood swings and seizures.
Home Front captures the human story of Jeremy's return to civilian life in his small hometown, and his subsequent readjustment to family, community—and most importantly, his new, altered self. The result is an unprecedented and insightful view of how one family copes with events that have changed them forever. By turns heartbreaking and inspiring, Home Front gets behind the often-sanitized myth of war to reveal its true complications and costs.
Subjects & Collections
Festivals & Awards
* Official Selection, Tribeca Film Festival, 2006Reviews
"One of the ten best films of the year." - Time Magazine"An exceptional and compelling look at the costs of war." - LA Times
“Indelible… Home Front is a picture not only of Mr. Feldbusch but also of the rural, staunchly pro-war society (reminiscent of the world of The Deer Hunter) to which he returns to become a devoted activist working for veterans’ welfare. In this unsentimental, apolitical film, Jeremy emerges as a hero, as do the stoic working-class people around him. No matter how one views the war in Iraq, these are men and women of rock-solid character and courage.” - Stephen Holden, The New York Times
“Alarmingly valuable” - Jessica Winter, Village Voice
“Terrific! A lucid knockout of a movie! Hankin’s directorial virtues include patience, pace, and structure, and an eye for external details that reveal inner strength. But, paramount is his ability to see beyond his preconceptions-and thus shaking the audiences out of theirs.”- Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
“A powerful look at the personal cost of war.” - Eugene Hernandez, Indiewire
“This is an important film, providing a human face to an all too often overlooked part of war’s complications. It should spark discussion in any group showing, from high school social science classes to civic organizations and veterans groups. Highly recommended.” – Educational Media Reviews Online
"Highly Recommended! A stinging condemnation of the brutality of war. Three-and-a-half stars [out of four]!" - Video Librarian
"Home Front is not overtly pro-war or antiwar. Richard Hankin, the director, knows that nobody feels good about the situation of a young Army ranger from small-town Pennsylvania who comes home from Iraq blind and finds that the support system for wounded veterans like him is far from perfect." - Anita Gates, The New York Times
“A sincere attempt to sever patriotism from political partisanship, Home Front is a rallying cry directed at the government to embrace the men and women who have fought in its name.” - Cineaste