Body of War: story of constant pain

On April 9 the documentary “Body of War” opened at the IFC Center in New York to a packed house. It will be opening later in April in San Francisco, Berkeley, Seattle and Los Angeles. Previous openings have taken place in Washington, D.C., Boston and Kansas City. It is co-directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro and is well worth seeing.

The film tells the story of a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Tomas Young, who enlisted on Sept. 13, 2001. He deployed to Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division in March 2004 and in less than a week was paralyzed from the chest down after being shot in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad.

His story is one of constant pain. His body no longer has an internal thermostat. He takes 35 pills a day for both physical and psychological wounds. After being wounded he spends only six weeks in Walter Reed Army Medical Center and then is sent home wheelchair-bound to St. Louis.

The film intimately follows his day-to-day life. Young gets married. On his honeymoon he goes to Camp Casey and meets with Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Baghdad on the same day Young was wounded.

The working-class couple tries their best to make it a go. His wife works full time as a server in a comedy club and as a primary caregiver at home. The stresses are too much and they break up. Cathy Smith, his mother, becomes his primary caregiver.

The film also follows IVAW member Young’s anti-war activities at demonstrations as well as interacting with veterans, active-duty soldiers, the Veterans Administration and members of Congress.

The film does have its drawbacks. Had it been just about Tomas Young, it would have a much stronger message. Instead, the message is diluted by the filmmakers’ portrayal of the Democratic Party over and over as an anti-war political party. This is not surprising considering the connections Phil Donahue has to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

The 133 members of Congress—mostly Democrats—who voted against the Oct. 10, 2002, War Resolution are presented as national heroes and icons. There is no mention of the fact that most of them have continued to vote for funding the war every year since it began—even when the Democrats took control of Congress after the November 2006 elections.

Issued at the same time as the documentary is an outstanding 2-CD collection of songs chosen by Tomas Young as inspiring the growth of his political consciousness. The contributing artists include Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam. It is being sold as an IVAW fundraiser.