Wartorn 1861-2010

Originally broadcast on HBO, Wartorn 1861-2010 provides a harrowing historical look at the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on U.S. military personnel and their families. PTSD dates from ancient times, as we are reminded by a haunting question in Homer's Odyssey, “Must you carry the bloody horror of combat in your heart forever?” Combining photographs and combat footage, letters and journals, and interviews with veterans and family members, the documentary covers the period from the Civil War through the current U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, suggesting that the confusion and stigma surrounding PTSD remain as firmly rooted today as was the case in the 1860s. Indeed, no less a figure than Gen. George S. Patton openly disparaged the notion of conflict-induced stress—to the point of ordering a PTSD-suffering soldier out of a hospital and back into battle. Today's military can be equally callous: one serviceman in Iraq sought psychiatric help but was dismissed as being a faker after a 10-minute examination; he subsequently killed himself. In fact, rising suicide rates in the current armed forces clearly suggest that the problem has gotten tragically out of hand. Directors Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent—working with executive producer/narrator James Gandolfini—have created a heartbreaking, eye-opening film that effectively argues that PTSD has always been and continues to be a horrendous psychological consequence of war. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)