In 2016, a U.S. Marine veteran named Jon Hancock embarked on a 5,800-mile walking trek from Maryland to Camp Pendleton, California. He did this both as a personal penance for some of his actions, things of which he is not proud, during the Iraq War, and to call attention to the struggles of many vets who return home emotionally unprepared to readjust to civilian life.
The cathartic documentary Bastards’ Road is about Hancock's literal and figurative journey, meeting up along the way with fellow Marines who fought beside him, and visiting with Gold Star families who lost sons, brothers, fathers. These men were relatively early to the fight, and were involved in a bloody, pitched 2004 battle in Ramadi.
Recalling events during that conflict and others, Hancock reflects on how unprepared he was for the challenges ahead, especially the inability to process his own lethal mistakes and the rise of a “monster” in him.
The film is a sincere effort to acknowledge the price of war on young people and their families, including Hancock’s own young son, who struggles to understand why his dad has to be gone for months on his walk. A number of Hancock’s Marine buddies prove well-spoken and far enough along in life to have made an accurate assessment of Iraq’s cost on their psyches. By the time we get to Pendleton, viewers and vets alike are ready to celebrate. Strongly recommended. Aud: I, J, H, C, P.