RococoTapes This film troubles me. The quality of shooting and editing is excellent, but I'm somewhat unnerved by what the possible consequences of exposing so much about a damaged individual could do to harm their already fragile metal state. A man who is obviously struggling to make sense of his rapidly diverging ideals is here used as fodder for sensationalism - Danfung Dennis does not hesitate to fictionalise Nathan Harris by crudely overdubbing scenes of him struggling during physical rehabilitation with the sound of warfare. Harris is treated as a puppet and it is never explained why. I don't remember Harris himself mentioning flashbacks? This film was either poorly edited or poorly conceived of, but I would say it is still worth watching simply to understand the manner in which the war in Afghanistan is being portrayed to the public at large, a public that have reacted positively to the film in the most part.

sponge3 I'm a civilian and love my men and women that have served, and continue to serve, our great country.To me, for better or worse, this documentary just tries to be honest. The images and facts of war can be difficult to watch, but sometimes what war can do to an individual, can be equally tough to witness.Although this documentary is focused on one individual, I feel that it might be applicable to a great number of our armed forces, that return home wounded. This particular hero is back home trying to recover from a pretty serious injury and all he can think about is getting back out there.What's most humbling to me, is that you get to see how much effort, time, love and passion that it takes to mentally and physically try to recover from war. Those closest to the wounded, ultimately share in their soldier's sacrifice.Ultimately, I feel that when I say "thank you for your service", it clearly isn't enough. Feel free to acknowledge the care givers as well, it looks awfully hard on them too.Thanks to our great men and women of our armed forces!!!

pierceagnew I started off watching this documentary honestly because I was bored one night and wanted to watch a documentary. Being fluent in Oscar news, I decided I would be cultured and try to watch one of the documentaries that was nominated. After some searching around I had success in finding Hell and Back Again on Instant Watch. I was a little skeptic at first, because I am not big on the whole Afghan War documentaries. I hate how directors try to shove their ideas down my throat about the war, but I found Hell and Back Again much different.I was entranced by how many ways the movie was pulling the opinion of the war. It first shows an injured Marine named Nathan who is crippled because of the war. Yet, the moment I began think it was an anti-war movie, Nathan is talking about how he wants to get back onto the front lines! I had to pause the movie and try to wrap my head around this and decide whether this was pro or anti-war. Then it hit me like a sack of bricks, this movie is not pro or anti, it's an actual documentary. It's what a documentary is meant to be, a picture of real life and a gap for the viewer to decide what is right or wrong. I un-paused the movie and continued to watch. The rest of movie was as gripping and emotion provoking as the first fifteen minutes. The director managed to flip between the footage of the war and the home life of Nathan. You could see Nathan back home still recovering physically from the war while at the same time the 'flashback' clips of the war lets the audience remember that there is more going on than we can see. As an audience you are spell bound. You see Nathan playing Modern Warfare 3 and you wonder what is going on in his head. You see Nathan playing with a gun and you move to the edge of your seats and begin to think that something very real could happen right here. The sheer tension created in this documentary is massive and is not lost on audiences. One of my favorite scenes in this movie is when Nathan and his wife are looking at a new house and Nathan opens a door. At that moment the movie flicks over to clips from Nathan overseas as he and his fellow soldiers are kicking down doors and then the movie flicks back to Nathan back at the new house where he is looking like he is about to throw up. The raw emotion in that scene really got me going. Overall I was pleasantly surprised at this movie. As a documentary it filled the requirements of not only being entertaining and thought provoking, but also being available to the public. The story was interesting and the people in the story were very real to me. I am giving this movie a 10 out of 10 rating and highly recommend that if you can spare 80 minutes of your life for this movie, then watch it.

dalefried Sometimes the power in the imagery of a film alone tells an ambiguous tale that can be taken in many directions by a viewer. With the plethora of documentaries on the Iraq and Afghanistan adventures pushing you this way or that, it was incredibly refreshing to see one that had its intentions somewhere else. Just present the war and its impacts and let the chips fall where they may.People made a big deal last year about Restrepo showing the intensity of moments in combat. That film, while great, doesn't even touch what young Danfung Dennis achieves here. The up close intimacy of the war moments took the most brazen courage to compile, but the shots are so beautifully constructed you truly can touch the daring and fear of those moments. I have only felt this before in narrative films like The Hurt Locker.But the footage of the struggle this troubled soldier endures in his recovery from crippling injuries is equally compelling, frightening and heartbreaking. The sewing together of the two worlds presented has a power all its own.I really believe this amazing young filmmaker, who really gives his all to the art in this film, deserves recognition. It won the documentary jury prize at Sundance. It now has been shortlisted by the Oscars for nomination consideration. These are so deserved.