The Cineplex's Complex War on The American Prospect

The Cineplex's Complex War

In his new film, In the Valley of Elah, Paul Haggis offers a portrait of returned Iraq soldiers which critiques not just the war, but also the way we treat our veterans.

by Kay Steiger | September 18, 2007

Two-time Oscar winner, for Crash and Million Dollar Baby, Paul Haggis uses a powerful and heavy-handed image in the opening scenes of his new film: an American flag flying upside down. “Do you know what that means?” the main character Hank, played by Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones, asks the Salvadoran groundskeeper he encounters on his drive out of town to look for his missing veteran son. When the response is negative, he tells the man it’s an international distress signal -- and instructs him on how to fly the flag correctly.

The far left has been opposing the Iraq war for some time, but In the Valley of Elah tells the story of moderate, middle America coming to grips with the with its grim realities. In a stock murder mystery format, it shows young men (female soldiers are noticeably absent from the film) who go away to war as heroes and return capable of frightening violence. The movie is finally getting people to talk about something on the fringe of most discussions about the Iraq War: What happens to returning soldiers?

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