- In the Pipeline presents: Patricia Foulkrod's The Ground Truth The largest benefit for audiences in the recent rise of the documentary has been the increasing release of alternative sources on an international crisis. This has been evident nowhere more then with the on-going Iraq War as filmmakers continually find fresh perspectives absent from the media. The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends is the latest to offer a new side to the debate as it gives voice to the returning soldiers. The film explores the costs of the war by following the training of soldiers, and their struggle to come to terms with their combat experiences as they return home. The film is composed of cases of soldiers who suffer illness, injury, and post-traumatic stress disorders. The consequences made all the more disturbing by an accompanying investigation into the military instructing the soldiers to take others’ lives with calm.
- 8/23/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
- Quick Links > Patricia Foulkrod > The Ground Truth > Focus Features > Official Site Squeaking and grinding, the wheel has begun to turn. The traditional Hollywood production path for profit and success is being turned and manipulated in ways that are at once feared and counted on. The Ground Truth is the first foray into writing and directing for Patricia Foulkrod , primarily known for producing more mainstream films like Crazy Like A Fox (2004). The Hollywood Reporter reports that “Truth” will be shown in limited theatrical release, possibly as little as six Us cities then will follow up with a nationwide series of screenings in homes, churches, hospitals, libraries and other community centers on October 11, the four-year anniversary of the authorization to use military force in Iraq. This concept of nearly “guerilla distribution” is new, but not unheard of. In early 2006 Steven Soderbergh utilized the concept for his reality appearing Bubble
- 8/8/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
PARK CITY -- We have all seen dehumanizing scenes of Marine boot camp in feature films like "Full Metal Jacket" and more recently "Jarhead", but nothing can compare to the visceral impact of the real deal in Patricia Foulkrod's masterful documentary "The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends." Chronicling the odyssey of soldiers from the time they enlist and learn to kill to their return home, doc is a stunning statement on how we mistreat our best and bravest young men. A savvy distributor or cable network could make this into a must-see film for concerned citizens in both red and blue states.
Foulkrod's film is not about taking a political side, though it is clear she is strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Her focus instead is on the dehumanizing of eager young men and their transformation into killing machines. Miraculously, she has uncovered never-before-seen footage: an ex-Soldier contributed material he shot during basic training and an embedded Italian journalist and others gave her scenes of wartime abuses against civilians. This is not the sanitized war seen on the six o'clock news.
About 10 soldiers are interviewed and bear witness to how their lives have been irreparably damaged. As one puts it, "we lost part of our soul in Iraq." And what is even more tragic is that upon their return, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, the government has turned a blind eye to their problems. "The Ground Truth" gives the lie to the empty rhetoric of "support our troops" and the hollowness of yellow ribbons tied to trees. When another soldier goes to his counselor for help, she tells him, we don't treat conscientious objectors.
And these are men who went willingly to serve their country, some to get revenge for Sept. 11, others just to blow things up. But to a man, they say they were sold a bill of goods about the career training opportunities awaiting them in the military, the education afterwards and the medical benefits they would receive. The reality, unfortunately, was much different. Army Pfc. Herold Noel, a black man from Brooklyn, movingly recalls the despair he felt on his return and how he wound up homeless living in his car. There should be a surgeon's general's warning attached to the recruitment papers like there are to cigarettes, he says wryly.
Instead of the promises of heroism and glory, what they found in Iraq was the brutality of war. A soldier sings a popular marching song, part of the Navy indoctrination, about the joys of killing kids in school. And a shocking scene taken from a military helicopter shows an aerial view as a group of fleeing civilians are bombed. It may look like a video game but it's not.
Many of the disenfranchised veterans have banned together in various support groups and family members testify to the ripple effect of the mental and physical injuries suffered by their loved ones. The film takes pains to point out that the damage done to these people does not just affect them but is inherited by generations to come.
While the material is loaded this is not a polemic; the material speaks eloquently for itself. The servicemen are given the chance to share their stories, and Foulkrod and her editor, Rob Hall, seamlessly weave it together with the archival footage into a fluid narrative that is quietly and cumulatively devastating.
THE GROUND TRUTH: WHEN THE KILLING ENDS
Credits:
Director: Patricia Foulkrod
Producer: Patricia Foulkrod
Executive Producers: Faiz Kayyem, Louise Wannier, Andrew Mysko, Jodie Evans, Dal La Magna
Director of photography: Reuben Aaronson
Music: David Hodge
Editor: Rob Hall
Running time -- 72 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Foulkrod's film is not about taking a political side, though it is clear she is strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Her focus instead is on the dehumanizing of eager young men and their transformation into killing machines. Miraculously, she has uncovered never-before-seen footage: an ex-Soldier contributed material he shot during basic training and an embedded Italian journalist and others gave her scenes of wartime abuses against civilians. This is not the sanitized war seen on the six o'clock news.
About 10 soldiers are interviewed and bear witness to how their lives have been irreparably damaged. As one puts it, "we lost part of our soul in Iraq." And what is even more tragic is that upon their return, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, the government has turned a blind eye to their problems. "The Ground Truth" gives the lie to the empty rhetoric of "support our troops" and the hollowness of yellow ribbons tied to trees. When another soldier goes to his counselor for help, she tells him, we don't treat conscientious objectors.
And these are men who went willingly to serve their country, some to get revenge for Sept. 11, others just to blow things up. But to a man, they say they were sold a bill of goods about the career training opportunities awaiting them in the military, the education afterwards and the medical benefits they would receive. The reality, unfortunately, was much different. Army Pfc. Herold Noel, a black man from Brooklyn, movingly recalls the despair he felt on his return and how he wound up homeless living in his car. There should be a surgeon's general's warning attached to the recruitment papers like there are to cigarettes, he says wryly.
Instead of the promises of heroism and glory, what they found in Iraq was the brutality of war. A soldier sings a popular marching song, part of the Navy indoctrination, about the joys of killing kids in school. And a shocking scene taken from a military helicopter shows an aerial view as a group of fleeing civilians are bombed. It may look like a video game but it's not.
Many of the disenfranchised veterans have banned together in various support groups and family members testify to the ripple effect of the mental and physical injuries suffered by their loved ones. The film takes pains to point out that the damage done to these people does not just affect them but is inherited by generations to come.
While the material is loaded this is not a polemic; the material speaks eloquently for itself. The servicemen are given the chance to share their stories, and Foulkrod and her editor, Rob Hall, seamlessly weave it together with the archival footage into a fluid narrative that is quietly and cumulatively devastating.
THE GROUND TRUTH: WHEN THE KILLING ENDS
Credits:
Director: Patricia Foulkrod
Producer: Patricia Foulkrod
Executive Producers: Faiz Kayyem, Louise Wannier, Andrew Mysko, Jodie Evans, Dal La Magna
Director of photography: Reuben Aaronson
Music: David Hodge
Editor: Rob Hall
Running time -- 72 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/25/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- We have all seen dehumanizing scenes of Marine boot camp in feature films like "Full Metal Jacket" and more recently "Jarhead", but nothing can compare to the visceral impact of the real deal in Patricia Foulkrod's masterful documentary "The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends." Chronicling the odyssey of soldiers from the time they enlist and learn to kill to their return home, doc is a stunning statement on how we mistreat our best and bravest young men. A savvy distributor or cable network could make this into a must-see film for concerned citizens in both red and blue states.
Foulkrod's film is not about taking a political side, though it is clear she is strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Her focus instead is on the dehumanizing of eager young men and their transformation into killing machines. Miraculously, she has uncovered never-before-seen footage: an ex-Marine contributed material he shot during basic training and an embedded Italian journalist and others gave her scenes of wartime abuses against civilians. This is not the sanitized war seen on the six o'clock news.
About 10 soldiers are interviewed and bear witness to how their lives have been irreparably damaged. As one puts it, "we lost part of our soul in Iraq." And what is even more tragic is that upon their return, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, the government has turned a blind eye to their problems. "The Ground Truth" gives the lie to the empty rhetoric of "support our troops" and the hollowness of yellow ribbons tied to trees. When another soldier goes to his counselor for help, she tells him, we don't treat conscientious objectors.
And these are men who went willingly to serve their country, some to get revenge for Sept. 11, others just to blow things up. But to a man, they say they were sold a bill of goods about the career training opportunities awaiting them in the military, the education afterwards and the medical benefits they would receive. The reality, unfortunately, was much different. Army Pfc. Herold Noel, a black man from Brooklyn, movingly recalls the despair he felt on his return and how he wound up homeless living in his car. There should be a surgeon's general's warning attached to the recruitment papers like there are to cigarettes, he says wryly.
Instead of the promises of heroism and glory, what they found in Iraq was the brutality of war. A soldier sings a popular marching song, part of the Marine indoctrination, about the joys of killing kids in school. And a shocking scene from one of the embedded cameramen shows an aerial view as a group of fleeing civilians are bombed. It may look like a video game but it's not.
Many of the disenfranchised veterans have banned together in various support groups and family members testify to the ripple effect of the mental and physical injuries suffered by their loved ones. The film takes pains to point out that the damage done to these people does not just affect them but is inherited by generations to come.
While the material is loaded this is not a polemic; the material speaks eloquently for itself. The servicemen are given the chance to share their stories, and Foulkrod and her editor, Rob Hall, seamlessly weave it together with the archival footage into a fluid narrative that is quietly and cumulatively devastating.
THE GROUND TRUTH: WHEN THE KILLING ENDS
Credits:
Director: Patricia Foulkrod
Producer: Patricia Foulkrod
Executive Producers: Faiz Kayyem, Louise Wannier, Andrew Mysko, Jodie Evans, Dal La Magna
Director of photography: Reuben Aaronson
Music: David Hodge
Editor: Rob Hall
Running time -- 72 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Foulkrod's film is not about taking a political side, though it is clear she is strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Her focus instead is on the dehumanizing of eager young men and their transformation into killing machines. Miraculously, she has uncovered never-before-seen footage: an ex-Marine contributed material he shot during basic training and an embedded Italian journalist and others gave her scenes of wartime abuses against civilians. This is not the sanitized war seen on the six o'clock news.
About 10 soldiers are interviewed and bear witness to how their lives have been irreparably damaged. As one puts it, "we lost part of our soul in Iraq." And what is even more tragic is that upon their return, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, the government has turned a blind eye to their problems. "The Ground Truth" gives the lie to the empty rhetoric of "support our troops" and the hollowness of yellow ribbons tied to trees. When another soldier goes to his counselor for help, she tells him, we don't treat conscientious objectors.
And these are men who went willingly to serve their country, some to get revenge for Sept. 11, others just to blow things up. But to a man, they say they were sold a bill of goods about the career training opportunities awaiting them in the military, the education afterwards and the medical benefits they would receive. The reality, unfortunately, was much different. Army Pfc. Herold Noel, a black man from Brooklyn, movingly recalls the despair he felt on his return and how he wound up homeless living in his car. There should be a surgeon's general's warning attached to the recruitment papers like there are to cigarettes, he says wryly.
Instead of the promises of heroism and glory, what they found in Iraq was the brutality of war. A soldier sings a popular marching song, part of the Marine indoctrination, about the joys of killing kids in school. And a shocking scene from one of the embedded cameramen shows an aerial view as a group of fleeing civilians are bombed. It may look like a video game but it's not.
Many of the disenfranchised veterans have banned together in various support groups and family members testify to the ripple effect of the mental and physical injuries suffered by their loved ones. The film takes pains to point out that the damage done to these people does not just affect them but is inherited by generations to come.
While the material is loaded this is not a polemic; the material speaks eloquently for itself. The servicemen are given the chance to share their stories, and Foulkrod and her editor, Rob Hall, seamlessly weave it together with the archival footage into a fluid narrative that is quietly and cumulatively devastating.
THE GROUND TRUTH: WHEN THE KILLING ENDS
Credits:
Director: Patricia Foulkrod
Producer: Patricia Foulkrod
Executive Producers: Faiz Kayyem, Louise Wannier, Andrew Mysko, Jodie Evans, Dal La Magna
Director of photography: Reuben Aaronson
Music: David Hodge
Editor: Rob Hall
Running time -- 72 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/22/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- This year Ioncinema.com is covering the 2006 edition of the Sundance Film Festival Live from Park City, Utah. We’ll be on hand to cover the festival, and while we won’t be able to cover everything from A to Z: here is a comprehensive beforehand look at the selections in each of the festival’s sections. (Note: To access individual preview pages, simply click on the links below) January 19th to the 28th, 2006Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 19, 2006'); Docu Competition"American Blackout," Ian Inaba's assessment of the career of U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and the purported suppression of the black vote historically and in the 2004 election in Florida and Ohio. "Crossing Arizona," Joseph Mathew's mosaic of human stories enmeshed in Arizona's illegal immigration crisis. "God Grew Tired of Us," Christopher Quinn and Tom Walker's account of the culture shock that hits four Sudanese
- 1/17/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -Director Antonio Tibaldi, who in his last picture, "Little Boy Blue", demonstrated a penchant for both vivid atmospherics and overbaked narratives, provides a similarly uneven mixture in his latest effort.
A beautiful looking film with a strong performance by Christina Applegate, "Claudine's Return", set on a picturesque island off the coast of Georgia, is ultimately undone by its narrative obliqueness. It recently served as the closing night film at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
Applegate, in a strong departure from her television roles, plays the title character, an unstable young woman who works as a motel maid by day and stripper by night. The other central character is Stefano (Stefano Dionisi), a young Italian drifter who takes a job as the motel's handyman. The pair are soon romantically involved, but Claudine, who is bisexual, keeps her emotional distance.
The pair embark on a road trip in which Claudine's already fragile emotional state becomes increasingly undone, as she confronts the events of her past, including the early death of her only sibling. Stefano, very much in love, becomes more and more frustrated as he watches Claudine spiral downward into self- destruction.
The screenplay, by Tibaldi and Heidi Hall, is deliberately vague as to the characters' motivations, and generally seems more interested in providing colorful incidents - the pair have a lengthy encounter with a cockatoo, for instance - and depicting the sleepy and somewhat seedy atmosphere of its setting. The general themes of loneliness and emotional unraveling are not handled in a particularly original fashion, and the film is affecting only in isolated moments.
Still, the director demonstrates a strong visual sense and a definite ability to provide a vivid ambiance. Although at times one becomes too aware of his efforts, such as with his use of different film speeds, there is no denying his technical skills. Both lead actors deliver strong performances, with Applegate providing a textured and subtle characterization of a disturbed woman and Dionisi registering as a smoldering and sexy presence. Valerie Perrine also shows up for a brief and wordless cameo.
CLAUDINE'S RETURN
Alliance Independent Films
A Jazz Pictures production
Director:Antonio Tibaldi
Screenplay:Antonio Tibaldi, Heidi Hall
Producer:Amedeo Ursini, Patricia Foulkrod
Director of photography:Luca Bigazzi
Editor:Janice Keuhnelian
Production designer:Bryce Perrin
Composer:Michel Colombier
Color/stereo
Cast:
Claudine Van Doozen:Christina Applegate
Stefano:Stefano Dionisi
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
A beautiful looking film with a strong performance by Christina Applegate, "Claudine's Return", set on a picturesque island off the coast of Georgia, is ultimately undone by its narrative obliqueness. It recently served as the closing night film at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
Applegate, in a strong departure from her television roles, plays the title character, an unstable young woman who works as a motel maid by day and stripper by night. The other central character is Stefano (Stefano Dionisi), a young Italian drifter who takes a job as the motel's handyman. The pair are soon romantically involved, but Claudine, who is bisexual, keeps her emotional distance.
The pair embark on a road trip in which Claudine's already fragile emotional state becomes increasingly undone, as she confronts the events of her past, including the early death of her only sibling. Stefano, very much in love, becomes more and more frustrated as he watches Claudine spiral downward into self- destruction.
The screenplay, by Tibaldi and Heidi Hall, is deliberately vague as to the characters' motivations, and generally seems more interested in providing colorful incidents - the pair have a lengthy encounter with a cockatoo, for instance - and depicting the sleepy and somewhat seedy atmosphere of its setting. The general themes of loneliness and emotional unraveling are not handled in a particularly original fashion, and the film is affecting only in isolated moments.
Still, the director demonstrates a strong visual sense and a definite ability to provide a vivid ambiance. Although at times one becomes too aware of his efforts, such as with his use of different film speeds, there is no denying his technical skills. Both lead actors deliver strong performances, with Applegate providing a textured and subtle characterization of a disturbed woman and Dionisi registering as a smoldering and sexy presence. Valerie Perrine also shows up for a brief and wordless cameo.
CLAUDINE'S RETURN
Alliance Independent Films
A Jazz Pictures production
Director:Antonio Tibaldi
Screenplay:Antonio Tibaldi, Heidi Hall
Producer:Amedeo Ursini, Patricia Foulkrod
Director of photography:Luca Bigazzi
Editor:Janice Keuhnelian
Production designer:Bryce Perrin
Composer:Michel Colombier
Color/stereo
Cast:
Claudine Van Doozen:Christina Applegate
Stefano:Stefano Dionisi
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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