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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 12/7/09

Brothers: A Film with Striking Resonance After Obama Pledges a Surge in Afghanistan

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Director Jim Sheridan and the cast of the film Brothers probably did not expect that when their film was released it would be three days after President Barack Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan.

Sheridan and the rest involved could not have known that a story involving a Marine (Tobey Maguire) being pulled away from his wife and two daughters would have an extraordinary amount of resonance based on recent decisions made by the Obama Administration.

To be fair, this film is not a war film or an anti-war film if you ask the producers. It is a remake of a Danish film called Brà ¸dre, which follows two brothers--- Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal). It is a drama about a family dealing with pain and grief in a time of war.

Through two brothers, we see what it is like for one to go off to war, we see what it is like to struggle emotionally with the loss of a loved one who has died in war, and we see what it is like to deal with a loved one who has returned home from war.

The family is the quintessential American military family. Sam Cahill was an athlete in high school who married a cheerleader, Grace (Natalie Portman). His father was in the military and served in Vietnam. And, it would appear that his father (Sam Shepard) pushed his children through verbal and physical abuse (a result of PTSD he suffered after Vietnam) to follow in his footsteps.

Tommy, however, did not become the man his father hoped for. He took a wrong path and ended up in prison. And, when it comes time for Sam to deploy, he is doubtful and bothered by Sam's decision to cooperate and go to Afghanistan.

Each character's deep inner personal conflict speaks to the many conflicts that American society faces whether that reality is patently obvious to American society or not.

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Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof Press. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, "Unauthorized Disclosure." He was an editor for OpEdNews.com
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