Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Encyclopedia
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Richard E. Robbins
, which portrays the lives and experiences of American combat soldiers who have been to the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars.
and Afghanistan
wars, combined with news footage and photographs. These writings include journals, letters, poetry and essays, which were gathered by National Endowment for the Arts
and previously published by Random House
. The text is read by actors Beau Bridges
, Robert Duvall
, Aaron Eckhart
, Chris Gorham, Justin Kirk
, John Krasinski
, Josh Lucas
, and Blair Underwood
, and poet Brian Turner
. The film also consists of commentaries and interviews with literary authors such as Tobias Wolff
, Tim O'Brien
, Anthony Swofford
, Paul Fussell
and James Salter
.
's "America at the Crossroads" series.
reported the film had an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, presenting "generally favorable reviews" The film was considered "eloquent and moving", and was rated A- by Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
, who added that the documentary brought the viewers "closer to the emotions (principally boredom and terror) of the soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan than perhaps any previous examination." Janice Page of The Boston Globe
also agreed that "no [other] work has brought viewers deeper inside the psychology of war" Los Angeles Times
s Mark Olsen, however, gave a more critical review, commenting that the film "do more of a disservice to the writings than aid in any greater understanding of their emotional meaning." The film received a rating of 2.5/4 stars by New York Post
's reviewer Kyle Smith, whose criticism was that the film didn't keep the exact original text, leading to the writings being "dramatized".
., as well as a nomination for Best Feature Documentary films of the year by the International Documentary Association
. Operation homecoming also received the Special Jury Award for "Innovative Documentary Storytelling" at Florida Film Festival
in 2007.
For this documentary, director Richard E. Robbins was nominated for the 2007 Directors Guild of America Awards.
Richard E. Robbins
Richard E. Robbins is an American filmmaker and documentarian, who has produced and directed several documentaries for ABC and PBS. The most notable is Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, which puts forward the perspective of American troops returning home from service in Iraq...
, which portrays the lives and experiences of American combat soldiers who have been to the Iraq and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
wars.
Production
The film is based on a collection of writings by veterans who have served in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
wars, combined with news footage and photographs. These writings include journals, letters, poetry and essays, which were gathered by National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and previously published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. The text is read by actors Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
, Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
, Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
, Chris Gorham, Justin Kirk
Justin Kirk
Justin Kirk is an American stage and film actor. He is known for playing Prior Walter in Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of Angels in America and for his portrayal of Andy Botwin in Showtime's Weeds.-Early life and education:Kirk was born in Salem, Oregon, son of a...
, John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
, Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
, and Blair Underwood
Blair Underwood
Blair Underwood is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known as headstrong attorney Jonathan Rollins from the NBC legal drama L.A. Law, a role he portrayed for seven years. He has gained critical acclaim throughout his career, receiving numerous Golden Globe Award...
, and poet Brian Turner
Brian Turner
Brian Turner may refer to:* Brian Turner * Brian Turner and field hockey representative* Brian Turner , drummer for the Seattle-based band Schoolyard Heroes* Brian Turner , British celebrity chef...
. The film also consists of commentaries and interviews with literary authors such as Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff
Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff is an American author. He is known for his memoirs, particularly This Boy's Life , and his short stories. He has also written two novels.-Biography:Wolff was born in 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama...
, Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien (author)
Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there...
, Anthony Swofford
Anthony Swofford
Anthony Swofford is a writer and former United States Marine known for being the author of the book Jarhead, published in 2003, which is primarily based on his accounts of various situations encountered in the first Gulf War. This memoir was the basis of the 2005 movie of the same name, directed...
, Paul Fussell
Paul Fussell
Paul Fussell is an American cultural and literary historian, author and university professor. His writings cover a variety of genres, from scholarly works on eighteenth-century English literature to commentary on America’s class system...
and James Salter
James Salter
James Salter is an American novelist and short-story writer. Once a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, he abandoned the military profession in 1957 after successful publication of his first novel, The Hunters.After a brief career at film writing and film directing, Salter...
.
Release
In 2007, the film was given theatrical release in the United States on September 9 and aired on Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's "America at the Crossroads" series.
Box office
The film grossed 4,500 US dollars in its opening weekend and ranked 76 for the weekend, and went on to gross a total of 6,700 US dollars domestically.Critical reaction
The documentary was given mostly positive reviews by critics. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, presenting "generally favorable reviews" The film was considered "eloquent and moving", and was rated A- by Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, who added that the documentary brought the viewers "closer to the emotions (principally boredom and terror) of the soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan than perhaps any previous examination." Janice Page of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
also agreed that "no [other] work has brought viewers deeper inside the psychology of war" Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
s Mark Olsen, however, gave a more critical review, commenting that the film "do more of a disservice to the writings than aid in any greater understanding of their emotional meaning." The film received a rating of 2.5/4 stars by New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
's reviewer Kyle Smith, whose criticism was that the film didn't keep the exact original text, leading to the writings being "dramatized".
Nominations and awards
The documentary received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 80th Academy Awards80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
., as well as a nomination for Best Feature Documentary films of the year by the International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association , founded in 1982, is a non-profit organization promoting documentary film, video and new media, to support the efforts of documentary filmmaking and video production makers around the world and to increase public appreciation and demand for the art of the...
. Operation homecoming also received the Special Jury Award for "Innovative Documentary Storytelling" at Florida Film Festival
Florida Film Festival
The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Showcasing the best American independent and foreign films, the festival has become one of the most respected regional film events in the United States.-Overview:The Festival...
in 2007.
For this documentary, director Richard E. Robbins was nominated for the 2007 Directors Guild of America Awards.