This documentary opens with some very old grainy footage and we are introduced to a younger version of Ivan Kander and his friend Rob Jones, making films with questionable production values but a lot of enthusiasm. We then jump into more recent times to find that, as we know, Kander remains working in the film industry, while Jones had served with the Marines in Afghanistan, where he had been hit by an IED and lost both his legs. As the title suggests, we follow his story from the point of survival, through the recovery and into the forward facing stage.
This is clearly a very personal film for all involved – of course for those in front of the camera but also for Kander since he has no distance from the subject. As a result there is a certain level of access and tone that the film gets that may not have been the case if it were made by some random film crew coming in. Accordingly we do get good across with Jones and those who know him and served with him; everyone seems relaxed and happy to talk. Of course the content of this is what you would expect, but it is real people and I had no issue hearing specific examples of bravery, spirit, heart and friendship because they are not a script but rather a real person. It is a film that heartens, not in a way that makes everything okay, but just to use Jones as a model of spirit and fight. The film never gets into the heart of darkness which I am sure Jones must get to, even in his quiet minutes, but he is honest enough about the struggle that it never feels like anything other than realism.
The slight downside of this being such a personal film is that Kander seems reluctant to cut aspects which didn't work quite as well. For me the stage comedy sections didn't really fit or add, and I would have much preferred more time outside the hospital where Jones did his contributions. Likewise the film does run surprisingly long, even if it doesn't necessarily feel like it does. Overall though, this is an engaging film which offers the sense of a person with spirit and courage, and it is this that draws the viewer to Jones and to his story.