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Friday, March 23, 2012

The Welcome - Movie Review


This writer has reviewed thousands of books, movies and documentaries over the last thirty years. Each was entertaining or educational, but none left me wanting to hug someone like “The Welcome”.



“The Welcome” is a new documentary directed by Kim Shelton, produced by Bill McMillan and is by far the best film this reviewer has seen in thirty years of veterans advocacy work. 

Synopsis
The Welcome offers a fiercely intimate view of life after war: the fear, anger and isolation of post-traumatic stress that affects vets and family members alike.  As we join these vets in a small room for an unusual five day healing retreat, we witness how the ruins of war can be transformed into the beauty of poetry. Here our perceptions are changed, our psyches strained, and our hearts broken.  And at the end, when this poetry is shared with a large civilian audience, we begin to understand that  all of us are a vital piece of the Welcome as Veterans try to find the way back home.  Their examples of unflinching honesty, courage and love lift us up, inspiring all of us once again to feel our common humanity, always the first casualty of war.

A ninety-three minute, highly emotional, heart wrenching and totally raw documentary, that tells the story of what our returning veterans are going through in dealing with PTSD. Shelton and McMillan aren’t telling the stories, instead actual veterans share their personal hardship, pain, anguish, guilt and regret with the audience. 
When watching a documentary a viewer is generally overwhelmed with material that needs to be overlooked in order to grasp the essence of the story being told. In “The Welcome” there’s only one thing missing throughout the entire film, subtitles to give you the background information of each person participating in a weekend of healing.

From the very beginning of this film, you’re drawn into each story by the raw power and energy of the individual’s private hell and their emotions being shared. There is no narration, or one on one interview to bore you to tears, instead, you get heart wrenching and emotional truth of what it’s like to be a veteran suffering from PTSD. 

Every story shows a different layer of what Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines are going through when they return from war.  You can’t watch this film with just your eyes, you must watch it with your heart, because it’s the only way you’ll grasp the true essence of their pain. In grasping that pain; you begin to understand their suffering. You’ll cry as you listen to their stories. You’ll also laugh at their jokes.

This isn’t a sports film. This isn’t Rocky. This is real life. Kim Shelton and Bill McMillan and their crew have captured the raw essence of those enduring their hell with PTSD.   

Welcome Home to the Veterans within this film, your courage to be a part of this film shows how far you’ve come in your healing process. 

I encourage all organizations military and civilian alike to hold a screening of this movie. For further information  in how to accomplish a screening, contact the film producers at http://www.thewelcomethemovie.com/ 

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