Cathy Smith

Paralyzed from the chest down after serving in Iraq for just one week, 25-year-old Tomas Young is forced to deal with the realities of war each and every day. For Tomas, learning to cope with his disability meant finding his voice to speak out against the war in Iraq. Directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro and set to the haunting vocals of Eddie Vedder, the multi award-winning BODY OF WAR splits its time between Tomasís arduous daily reality in Kansas City, MO, and the legislative processes that led up to the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Senatorial speeches and a running tally of pro-war votes are interspliced with intimate footage of Tomas as he navigates through the acute physical and emotional impacts of his injury. A testament to the power of parallel images, the film adeptly juxtaposes the sanitized vantage point of Washington with raw personal experience. In the end, this contrast forces viewers to question the motives, methods, and ever-rising cost of the conflict in Iraq. A deeply moving and bracingly honest film, BODY OF WAR narrates a story of courage, conviction, and resistance that must be heard.

Tomas Young left for Iraq a gung-ho soldier. He returned home paralyzed, struggling to deal with his physical limitations and his changing feelings about the war. This eye-opening documentary looks at the raging debate over the war in Iraq through the eyes of this courageous young hero who signed up for the military two days after Sept. 11, only to be sent to Iraq where a bullet shattered his life physically and emotionally.