Home of the Brave (2006)

Three soldiers struggle to readjust to life at home after returning home from a lengthy tour in Iraq.

Director:

Irwin Winkler

Writers:

Mark Friedman (screenplay), Mark Friedman (story)

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, 50 Cent, Jessica Biel

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Will Marsh
Jessica Biel	...	Vanessa Price
Brian Presley	...	Tommy Yates
50 Cent	...	Jamal Aiken (as Curtis Jackson)
Christina Ricci	...	Sarah Schivino
Chad Michael Murray	...	Jordan Owens
Victoria Rowell	...	Penelope Marsh
Jeffrey Nordling	...	Cary (as Jeff Nordling)
Vyto Ruginis	...	Hank Yates
Sam Jones III	...	Billy Marsh
James MacDonald	...	Ray
Sandra Nelson	...	V.A. Hospital Doctor
Jack Serino	...	Pvt. Shar
Brendan Wayne	...	Spc. Pendilla
Mohamed Zinathlah	...	Amad Kamal

Storyline

The day after they get the word they'll go home in two weeks, a group of soldiers from Spokane are ambushed in an Iraqi city. Back stateside we follow four of them - a surgeon who saw too much, a teacher who's a single mom and who lost a hand in the ambush, an infantry man whose best friend died that day, and a soldier who keeps reliving the moment he killed a civilian woman. Each of the four has come home changed, each feels dislocation. Group therapy, V.A. services, halting gestures from family and colleagues, and regular flashbacks keep the war front and center in their minds. They're angry, touchy, and explosive: can a warrior find peace back home?

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war veteran | flashback | blood splatter | voice over narration | kitchen | 

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Taglines:

Coming home is the real battle.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

As the private is "welding" on the Humvee door apparently adding an additional panel he is shown running the welding rod down the hinge very quickly. He did not strike the bead, form a puddle, and run the bead. He was simply making sparks for show.

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Goofs

When one soldier is told to fire the AT-4 at a gunman on the roof, he is holding it backwards when he is firing it. The rocket comes out of the smaller end of the tube, not the larger.

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Quotes

Penelope Marsh: Will, what happened over there?
Will Marsh: I don't really remember. You know. It's like a dream. Hazy dream.
Penelope Marsh: Then tell me. I wanna know.
Will Marsh: Do you? Wanna know what a blast wound looks like? What an OR in the desert smells like? What really happens to them? How they die? You really wanna know? You want us to come back like nothing ever happened. You don't want to get your hands dirty with the details.

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Connections

References Forever Lulu (2000)

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Soundtracks

Taps
(uncredited)

User Reviews

The War Inside

The War Inside, November 6, 2007 By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) HOME OF THE BRAVE is one of those films that is difficult to critique: the message of how war permanently alters the minds and bodies of soldiers and their families is a meaningful one and one about which we need to be reminded. Irwin Winkler has made some good films (DeLovely, Life as a House, Guilty by Suspicion), but in this film he seems to be working against the script by Mark Friedman which has a tendency to oversimplify emotions and thus loses its impact.

The film begins in Iraq where each of the main characters is at least tangentially connected. Dr. Will Marsh (Samuel L. Jackson) is in a truck driven by Vanessa (Jessica Biel) and accompanied by soldiers Tommy (Brian Presley) and Jamal (50 Cent AKA Curtis Jackson) when a roadside bomb explodes, maiming the hand of Vanessa, killing Tommy's best friend, making Jamal witness unnecessary civilian deaths, and placing Will in an impotent position as a doctor. Flash forward to Spokane, Washington where each of these four wounded people try to piece their lives together in a world that loathes the Iraq war (not at all unlike the treatment of soldiers returning from the unpopular Vietnam debacle), trying to make sense of it all.

The problem with the good idea for a movie lies in the too traditional plot lines. The actors (especially Presley and Biel) give it their all, but credibility enters and the smoke rises and we are left with a misplaced patriotism. The message is strong: the delivery of it is shaky. Grady Harp

Details

Official Sites:

3L Filmverleih [Germany] MGM [United States]

Country:

USA Morocco

Language:

English Spanish Arabic

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Home of the Brave

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,000, 17 December 2006

Gross USA:

$51,708

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$499,620

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Millennium Films, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1