In the Valley of Elah

In the movie "In the Valley of Elah" we meet Hank Deerfield. While trying to contact his son who's just returned home from serving in Iraq, his told that his son has become Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL). Hank drives to the military base to search for the truth about his son's disappearance. When neither the military or the civilian police seem very interested in the case Hank has to take the matter in to his own hands, being a retired warrior himself. He eventually gets help from Emily Sanders, a fairly new detective. Together they explore, piece by piece, the events leading up to the young mans disappearance.

The film clearly portrays young soldiers being affected by their time in Iraq. They have to make decisions it can be hard to face when coming back to “the real world”. Many of the soldiers try to find a way to “escape” the feelings and memories from Iraq. Some of they are maybe even trying to escape from themselves and who they have become. They turn to drugs, sex and violence. “In the Valley of Elah” takes up all these elements in the course of the film. The most important one is of course violence. Some of the soldiers have gone through tough times and seen and done things the everyday man on the street can not even begin to imagine. But the hard reality is that these men and women are young and easily affected. In the film we get to see how some soldiers takes the violence to far. They are not able to separate the live they have to live in Iraq and the life they are supposed to live back home.

The film is based on an article the director Paul Haggis read in a magazine about a young soldier being killed by one of his own. So this is not just a “filmproblem” but a problem we see in our own real world. It's quite clear that the film has a very strong antiwar undertone, and with a good reason if you ask me. We don't see any sign of the soldiers getting help or counseling when returning from a war zone. This might be the first step in making sure that things like we see in the film doesn't happen.

Only fools enlist for military service.

Yes, it's true. I said it. They are fools. Nothing more nothing less. Well, this might be a narrow and small minded statement, but so be it. So guess what, I don't support the war on terror. No kidding you say? Well I just wanted to make it clear to you.

Maybe I now should explain why I say what I say. Actually, is it really necessary.. I hope you've seen the news on TV or picked up the paper during the last 7 years. If not, we don't have much to talk about. But if you have been following the news I have to say that I'm shocked if don't agree with me. I can understand and also kind of relate to the support given to the war on terror 7 years ago, but not anymore. Look at the progress in the war? Or should I say the lack of progress?

What have happend? In the big picture what ordinary people are left with are the pain and hurt, shock and nausea over the 100 000 innocent sivilians and military officers being killed and injured during the war. I'm not saying that the military are doing everything wrong, but more harm than good are executed.

Maybe myfeelings are unreasonable, but I still stand for them. Am I wrong for not wanting more innocent people to die? Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting to pull all forces out all at once, but gradually. The point is not to send more soldiers.