Brothers at War

Having recently toured the Normandy beaches and hedgerows, the impact of war on the young men of those days in 1944 has been much on my mind. Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers served to put a real,if Hollywood,face on the sacrifices made by thousands of young Americans. A visit to any one of the 27 cemeteries in Normandy brings the cost home in an indelible manner.

Once again, young Americans, both men and women this time, are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. Leaving aside the politics of these conflicts, the experiences of the Rademacher family and,in particular,its heroic sons, reminds me again that the idea of serving ones country is of the highest order in the American psyche. The documentary does justice to this idea and,at the same time,reflects the intensely personal sacrifices made by each member of the family. The scenes in-country, inside the FOB's and outside, on patrols and in the fire fight, are a graphic portrayal of the boredom and terror combat brings with it.

Because it is real and true, not staged like films such as Hurt Locker - good as it was - in my opinion Brothers at War ought to be required viewing for all Americans. I'd recommend starting with the Congress of the United States.

I salute Jake Rademacher,Gary Sinise and all the others who made Brothers at War happen. And a sincere and grateful thank you to all members of the Rademacher family.

I recently watched this movie and it had quite a profound effect on me. Two things came to mind. One. The unbelievable pride these brothers have in each other and their country and two the unbelievable sadness that this pride actually can cause. I could not help but wonder if, what they are doing-is it not unbelievably selfish to those they leave behind. The young child who while growing up misses having a dad around and the young fiancé who has to sit at home and hope her husband to be will not be killed. I think she had the biggest effect on me as you can see that she is fighting back the tears while being interviewed. It just really showed that war is such a terrible thing and that being patriotic and being proud can also leave a very clearly loving family torn by what is being perceived as doing your duty to your country and doing your duty to your family. I salute this family.

While being deployed overseas, humor, sarcasm, and what some may deem "childish behavior" kept my fellow Marines and I sane. While some people may view the individuals in the movie to be joking around or making fun of certain situations, I see it as these people trying to survive mentally while in a seriously stressful situation. If you haven't been over there, please don't criticize a veteran for the way he or she may act or have acted in this documentary. Take this movie for what it is. A documentary film maker most likely does NOT have the ability to cure the country of Iraq's problems in a 2 hour film, so don't expect to see it happen. A Soldier's joking nature is not a slap in the face to anyone's culture, so don't think it is. It may be his/her way of coping with anxiety. If you're offended by my comments, you can thank my fellow Veterans in providing my right to freedom of speech. You're welcome.

A great documentary! The parents had 5boys + 2 girls and the film maker is the eldest. The documentary has lots of old family pix and family videos and you get to KNOW the family and their personalities. And you see them at their most vulnerable, bravest, craziest and most boredom too. (the troops LOVE the show watching CD's of "The OC")

We are not "in the business," though live in a suburb of LA. My sister Armine and I ventured over to Santa Monica 3rd St Promenade to attend the premiere of a limited (1 wk?) viewing of a must-see documentary... BROTHERS AT WAR.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED when it comes to your state.

Viewers in the Santa Monica, CA audience came from as far as Sacramento, San Diego, Pasadena and the 2 of us from Santa Clarita.

It's not being aired anywhere else. Can you believe, it's only opened in 50 cities in the entire USA. It orig opened near 6 US military bases.... and now starting to go into the civilian communities? Hey, we're lucky that it's in driving distance to most (within 1hr drive time).

You are involved in the lives of all the REAL LIFE characters in this documentary film. It's not a political film, bashing 1 side or the other. It was filmed between 2004-2006. It's a family opening up w/ family stories (7 kids), and many young soldiers & marines "in country" opening up (eventually) to a 30yr old documentary filmmaker ... searching... why his brothers are volunteering, why other troops are in the service? (You can only imagine the clapping going on in that theater at the end of the film)

Best of all, we lucked out that evening! There was a question / answer period following the 7pm movie premiere we attended: writer/director Jake Rademacher (the 3rd brother); award winning producer Norman Powell and Gary Sinese (known to most as Lt Dan from Forest Gump, starring in CSI-NY, and traveling the world to entertain our troops with his very talented professional band, The Lt Dan Band). There were even 2 of the troops that we saw in the documentary sitting in the audience as well. (More clapping and clapping) Even recommend by Roger Ebert in the Sun Times.

Great film. Hope it wins the Best Documentary Oscar.