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Most of the action takes place in rural Texas, which, more often than not, doesn't look much better than bombed out, bullet-riddled Baghdad. This dilapidated duality creates an effective mirroring between the breakdown of both locations and its peoples. Setting the action in small town America (President Bush's home state no less) gives Stop-Loss a greater feel of authentic, salt-of-the-earth Americana that could not be achieved in a more urban environment. We no longer throw ticker tape parades in big cities unless it's for triumphantly returning sports "heroes."

Stop-Loss gets most of the military stuff right, creating an authentic feel to the camaraderie between this band of brothers. For all its faults, Stop-Loss manages to criticize the war and its commander-in-chief (one particularly insolent line directed at the President elicited thunderous applause from the Washington D.C. audience with whom I saw the film) while honoring the bravery and sacrifice of its veterans. Perhaps the most moving scene in the film takes place in a VA hospital for those soldiers whose bodies have been decimated by combat. Stop-Loss understands that you can be against a war while also completely for the troops fighting it.

The film delivers some powerful images of PTSD

That Stop-Loss is topical goes without saying. Not that anyone wants to see it. If the past cinematic year has proven anything, it's that audiences are not interested in watching films that wrestle with the unpopularity of this country's involvement in Iraq. Like dominoes, one after another, last year's "war on terror" themed films—In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, The Kingdom, Grace is Gone, Redacted, Lions for Lambs—fell to audience apathy. The majority of Americans appear to be so repulsed by this war that they cannot imagine engaging it in the form of entertainment.

In America's last unpopular war, audiences flocked to see such films as Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and The Deer Hunter, though those films had the advantage of being produced years after armed conflict had ceased. Is it too soon to begin examining the consequences of our role in Iraq, or should we, as we did for Vietnam, wait a while to let the festering wounds heal before using the lens of art of interpret our feelings?

Whatever your feelings on the subject, Stop-Loss doesn't help matters. While its almost exclusively liberal-minded audience may already be a foregone conclusion, it sabotages its own vital premise by couching its argument in a thin, theatrical story. Stop-Loss should have been a thought-provoking drama that pushed audiences to question their government's treatment of its most precious "blood and treasure." Instead, this crucial subject is lost amidst melodrama and mediocrity.

>Talk About It

1. What do you think of the character nicknamed "Preacher," a Christian who was the moral core of the squad, and whose loss was the point at which all their lives begin to disintegrate? What purpose does he serve to the story?
2. What do you think of the actions of Sgt. King, a decorated and battle-tested war veteran? Is it more honorable to flee injustice or face it head on?
3. Is it critical, as some filmmakers obviously believe, to do everything within their power to call attention to what they feel is a disastrous turn for our nation, or is it best to let events play out in their totality before pronouncing judgment upon them?
4. How can the church rise to the challenge of helping returning soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?

The Family Corner

Stop-Loss is rated R for graphic violence and pervasive language. The film begins in Iraq with a blood-drenched, urban firefight whose violence ripples throughout the rest of the film. As one might expect, the film's language matches the ferocity of its violence. An earlier reported scene of "strong sexuality" has been removed from the final cut.

Photos © Copyright Paramount Pictures

© Brandon Fibbs subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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