Gut wrenchingly good. Sandra Ahola's story takes you on a wild emotional ride and leaves you thinking at the end. So many issue driven stories are so heavy handed and manipulative I am turned off and won't really pay attention. Even if the story presents the issue from my world view, I will still turn off if it is too manipulative. Her story was so well told I couldn't figure out where she stood on the issue until I e-mailed her and asked.
"Maura's War" is a surprising accidental companion to AWOL:The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service and How It Hurts Our Country. This book by former filmmaker Frank Schaeffer and Kathy Roth-Douquet.
Both "Maura's War" and the Schaeffer/Roth Douquet book explore an important issue that goes beyond the current conflict in Iraq.
If you can find the movie, watch it. Check the Seattle International Film Festival site. "AWOL", the book is easier to find. I recommend both.
