Co-directed by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue, the father of the modern television talk show, the documentary
Body of War offers forth an unsanitized account of one young man’s evolution from enlisted
soldier to anti-war veteran. The film’s trailer is about what one might reasonably expect, though a couple things stand out: 1) the effectively plaintive rumble of Eddie Vedder, who contributes two original songs to the production, 2) West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd’s impassioned Senate floor speech from October of 2002 (where was the network news coverage of this?), and 3) the film’s strikingly clear cinematography, including outdoor segments in Washington, D.C. The
runner-up for the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto
Film Festival, Body of War screens at AFI Fest in Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 6 at 7:30 p.m.