a film by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue
starring Tomas Young
Sadness is our most visceral of emotions, and for me so easy to trigger. It was not difficult invoking sadness or the subsequent tears through every minute of Body of War, but to focus beyond that immediate reaction was to recognize symbols and realities of hope, courage, and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Tomas Young is a brilliant mind and a sharp, articulate speaker, an invaluable voice to the anti-war campaign. This is a facet of the irony in Body; through his tragedy he becomes this powerful tool. More than any fictional narrative we see such a strong metaphor between soldier and Christ, his sacrifice for our protection in war. But in this modern rendition of Easter, Christ comes back in a wheelchair to point out the sins of unrepentant souls, first and foremost George and Dick.
The documentary follows Tomas shortly after his return from Iraq, via Kuwait, via Germany, via Walter Reed, back to Kansas City. The filmmaker acknowledges that after being paralyzed Tomas spends less than 9 months in recovery. A Vietnam vet friend points out his own experience was a year in the hospital followed by another in rehab after suffering a similar injury. We easily start to calculate the cost and the multiple layers of issues that rise out of one man's injury in a war inducing thousands of them, and the neglect of our most valuable asset.
Body makes a point to be painfully objective/intrusive in the day-to-day challenges of Tomas. We see him struggle out of cars, count the dozens of pills taken on a daily basis, hear the in-depth analysis of his intimate life (which consists of several methods attempting to achieve an erection), and even see his mother insert a catheter at a rest-stop. We follow him through his marriage and his separation, his struggles with depression and the unseen affects of paralysis, from not being able to cough to not regulating his own body temperature.
Along his journey, we see his own brother shipped off to Iraq, as well as Tomas' slow build-up of his participation in the anti-war movement, starting with his involvement with the Iraq Veterans Against the War. It becomes clear Tomas has a gift of gab, and begins a regular circuit of lectures and protests around the country.
In the background the political journey from early 2002 with the claim of Iraq having WMD's to the passing of joint resolution 114 authorizing the President to take military action in Iraq meanders along as 77 senators argue the threat of Saddam and the "immortal 23" talk sense to the world and in the halls of the Capitol. This second plot focuses primarily on the heroism, patriotism, and wisdom of Donald Byrd, senator from West Virginia, who stands up to the madness in bouts of speeches worthy of a Capra film. Our two heroes meet face-to-face in the final scene of the movie, and we see a symbolic changing of the guard and a hope that our future is in the hands of the brave and sane.
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