Soldier's Heart

Produced and directed by Roberta Seligman, this exceptional portrait of her father Mel, a WWII veteran, is a haunting meditation on the horrors of war seen through the eyes of one man. The program opens on the beaches of Normandy, where Mel Seligman has returned for the 40th anniversary of D-Day. As he walks the beach, memories flood back and he recreates the legendary invasion he remembers as "confusion all over the place." Over the four decades following the war, Seligman has been wracked by guilt. Shortly after D-Day, the young soldier stopped eating, shaving, and bathing. He was later diagnosed as having "battle fatigue" and was discharged. Although the condition goes under several names (in the Civil War, for instance, it was called "soldier's heart"), it is a common response to the inhumane brutality of war. In WWII, some 45% of all medical discharges were for "combat fatigue." Following his discharge, Seligman received a small pension, but almost no medical follow-up work. Haunted by nightmares, working at many odd jobs over the years, the man has struggled to come to terms with his experiences in the war (he also lost a brother there), while harboring guilt for not "finishing the job." Winner of numerous awards, Soldier's Heart is a heartbreaking personal study of the scars of war. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (See HOME ON THE RANGE for availability.)