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Where Soldiers Come From

Released Sep 9, 2011 1h 33m Documentary List
82% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 81% Audience Score 100+ Ratings
Filmmaker Heather Courtney follows three lifelong friends, who joined the National Guard right after high school, from boot camp to Afghanistan. Read More Read Less

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Critics Reviews

View All (22) Critics Reviews
Steven Snyder TIME Magazine Director Heather Courtney's emotional and engrossing portrait of America's bravest. Nov 10, 2011 Full Review Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times A work that's less urgent and involving than its intense subject matter might have dictated. Rated: 2.5/5 Oct 7, 2011 Full Review Tom Long Detroit News Courtney avoids all political posturing here, something rare in modern war documentaries. These are the guys, American kids. This is the war, it's awful. And this is what happens. In your own backyard. Rated: B+ Sep 30, 2011 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Its scope is both limited and intimate, a quality that is both to its credit and its detriment. But it is very much an essential document of the times we live in. Rated: 3/4 Aug 5, 2019 Full Review John Beifuss Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) One of the more valuable and compassionate entries to date in the ever-expanding catalog of documentaries inspired by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review James Wegg JWR Courtney has crafted a visual tour de force as she links the idyllic small-town existence of the all-for-one warriors with the arid, untameable terrain of ugly conflict. Rated: 4.5/5 Nov 2, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (10) audience reviews
Audience Member Heather Courtney's documentary achieves what The Hurt Locker set out to do; tell a truthful tale about the effect war has on its soldiers (and their families). Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A great documentary, that puts a human face on the faceless American soldiers that we see in the media, going off to war. Great to have it confirmed that they are not just mindless machines. Rather sad to see the difference between the young boys who go, and the men who come home. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Heather Courtney has the best of intentions, but her bias is unabashedly evident. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member The most wonderful thing about this documentary is the unadulterated honesty. It has no agenda. It has no outstanding message. It simply sets out to accurately chronicle the stories of several boys entering the military. As heart warming as it is heartbreaking. A must see, especially for anyone with any relation to the military. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best documentaries of the year. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A truly amazing look into what the war does upon the youth of the United States. In contrast to Restrepo, 'Where Soldiers Come From' shows a more common scenario for our troops over in Afghanistan. The film gives us a detailed look into the before & after psyche of these troops. Showing us that soldiers don't need bullets flying past their heads to become victims to the mental anguish of PTS. A brilliantly shot, and directed film by a devout documentarian. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Heather Courtney follows three lifelong friends, who joined the National Guard right after high school, from boot camp to Afghanistan.
Director
Heather Courtney
Producer
Heather Courtney, Megan Gilbride, David Hartstein
Screenwriter
Heather Courtney
Distributor
International Film Circuit [us]
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 9, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$38.2K
Runtime
1h 33m
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