Wartorn 1861-2010

A new HBO documentary Wartorn 1861-2010 premiered last night.

This film explores posttraumatic stress from the Civil War to today. 

Wartorn 1862-2010 is directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent and produced by Alpert, Goosenberg Kent and Matthew O’Neill. Executive producer is James Gandolfini.

The film continues an HBO series about the costs of war: Baghdad ER, Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq, and Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery.

I have too many thoughts and feelings about this film, and too little time (and clumsy English abilities) to write – so I’ll just include a quote (one out of many reviews and interviews about this great film):

"Wartorn," a compelling examination of how combat can cripple the lives of those who survive physically intact, will trouble some viewers. It should.

What we today call posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), executive producer James Gandolfini explains, is really just a more formal medical-sounding term for what over the last 150 years has been called shell shock, combat fatigue or just hysteria.

More often, "Wartorn" points out, it’s been called nothing at all. It’s been ignored – buried inside by those who suffer from it and brushed aside by those who find the subject uncomfortable… (Read more on NYDailyNews.com)

I’m looking forward to including this film into our Frontline Russia collection and initiating a discussion of the costs of war for Russian veterans – who are devastated as well but not taken care of properly by social institutions and the society in general…