we're in the valley

Of the Iraq war movies to be released since the invasion five years ago, I've been most impressed by In the Valley of Elah (2007). Tommy Lee Jones got an Oscar nomination for his leading role. Based on a true story, at one level, it's about a soldier who's gone AWOL and then found murdered. Dig deeper, and we get to the world of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Then throw in the statements and mentality of politicians who know nothing of war.

The story that this film portrays is, unfortunately, all too common and all too ignored. And I must say, all too avoidable and all too predictable. I don't like being right about this stuff--how our military personnel are put through a meat grinder and wind up doing things they hate themselves for.

Perhaps ten or twenty years from now, this movie won't suffer any accusations of propaganda. There's a real spiritual depth that can allow it to endure.