Five individuals with psychic scars talk about their combat experience in filmmaker Victoria Mills' Hidden Battles, illustrating how the psychological wounds of war cross all boundaries of race, gender, and class. Esmerelda, a Sandinista rebel in the 1970s, witnessed police brutality and lived in fear before moving to New York and becoming a healthcare aide. Here, she returns to Managua, where she recalls training for battle. “It frightened me,” she says, “to take up a gun.” Even though visiting her old neighborhood brings back bad memories, it also helps her to move on. Aaron took to his Marine training in Somalia more easily, but he didn't want to kill anyone either, and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after doing so, finding some degree of relief only when he moved from America to Scotland. Other subjects include Saar, who served with the Israeli Special Forces in Lebanon; George, who was with the U.S. Army in Vietnam; and Zacharia, an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade member in Palestine. Returning to civilian life, Saar became a dancer, while George is now a firefighter. Unlike the others, Zacharia lives each day as if it might be his last, believing that the Israelis could kill him at any moment. Speaking about Aaron's time in Mogadishu, his wife Heather says, “We talk about it all the time. Sometimes I wish it would go away,” but it's clear that it never will. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)
Hidden Battles
(2010) 65 min. DVD: $35: individuals; $95: high schools & public libraries; $200: colleges & universities. VSM Productions. PPR. Volume 26, Issue 4
Hidden Battles
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