Last Day of Freedom

Audience Reviews

View All (8) audience reviews

Audience Member An essential documentary. I don't believe I've ever seen anything that tackled as many subjects in such a short amount of time as "Last Day of Freedom". A man's brother serves his country in Vietnam, only to come home with what sounded like severe PTSD. After he murders a woman, he is tried, found guilty, and executed. The doc does an excellent job of highlighting Manny's humanity, and the lack of humanity by lawmen involved. This completely changed my opinion of PTSD and mental health in general, although the death penalty has been an issue I've always been against. But the best thing about "Last Day of Freedom" is that it doesn't completely avoid the politics surrounding the situation, but it addresses what is necessary. The animation is a very interesting stylistic choice. I'm not sure it adds anything, but it does look very cool. Nominated for Best Documentary Short, 2015, and very worthy of the nomination Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member As a documentary it rips your heart open. As an animated piece it captures a hard to describe experience that a haunted man may feel. Just see it Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member This 32 minute documentary highlights post traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"). I don't know what is more gripping, the story itself, or the scaled-down bareness of the presentation. This film highlights the unfortunate realities facing some combat war veterans. This is a particular sad true story which is essentially told in colourless drawings. Colour is only used to emphasize the protagonist's anxiety and tension. An essential viewing for anyone curious about PTSD and what happens when society leaves its war veterans untreated. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member If you like true stories told very well, but briefly, and you'd like to get a leg up in an Oscar pool, then this review is for you! In my continuing effort to see as many Oscar nominees as possible, I took advantage of the opportunity to see the shorts.tv theatrical presentation "Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Documentary" (NR, 3:00 - with 10 min. intermission). Here's a brief, spoiler-free summary and evaluation of one of those five films... "Last Day of Freedom" (32 min.) - Bill Babbitt's little brother Manny came home from two tours in Vietnam with what we now call PTSD. After his mental illness costs him his family, Manny eventually finds himself living on the streets. Bill invites Manny to come live with him and his family, but when Manny is accused of a horrible crime, Bill wrestles with the extremely difficult decision of whether to turn Manny in to the police, and then has to learn to live with the consequences. Bill tells the story himself - as a simple line drawing. We see Bill's "face" and illustrations of scenes from Bill and Manny's past as a series of animated drawings. This film deals with important issues of veterans' care, racism and the workings of our criminal justice system, but its messages are obscured by the single point-of-view storytelling and the creative but distracting choice to tell the entire story through animation. "B-" If you like true stories told very well, but briefly, and you'd like to get a leg up in an Oscar pool, then this review is for you! In my continuing effort to see as many Oscar nominees as possible, I took advantage of the opportunity to see the shorts.tv theatrical presentation "Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Documentary" (NR, 3:00 - with 10 min. intermission). Here's a brief, spoiler-free summary and evaluation of one of those five films... The other four films in the shorts.tv theatrical presentation "Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Documentary" are... "Body Team 12" "Chau, beyond the Lines" "Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah" "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness" We have posted our articles about each of those other films on their respective pages on this website. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Emotional, compelling short film. This work of art is going to win the Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject). No doubt about it Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member The story is well-told and poignant. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Last Day of Freedom

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW