REEL CRITIC:

Movies about the Iraq War, both Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, have proved to be box-office disappointments and for the most part artistic failures. Such films as “Redacted,” “Rendition,” “Jarhead,” “The Kingdom,” and “In The Valley of Elah” have not resonated with audiences and, despite what some of the filmmakers may have intended, have not significantly swayed public opinion regarding the war.

Perhaps Iraq will be similar to Vietnam in regard to the American public not embracing films about the war until years after the end of the conflict. Although Michael Cimino’s “The Deer Hunter” won the Academy Award for best picture in 1978, it wasn’t until nearly a decade later (1986) that Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” triggered a national catharsis. Vietnam veterans openly sobbed during screenings and embraced in groups outside theaters. “Platoon” also earned the best picture Oscar.

In theaters now is the latest attempt to present a dramatization of the American occupation of Iraq. “Stop-Loss,” stars Ryan Phillippe as Sgt. Brandon King, an all-American kid from Brazos County, Texas, who answered his country’s call. Having fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, King is ready to return to civilian life and his parents’ ranch. Returning with him is childhood friends Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) and Tommy Burgess (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

The intensity and chaos of the young men’s experience are graphically illustrated in the opening scenes both in “real-time” and as videos replayed on the squad member’s laptops accompanied by a heavy metal soundtrack. While manning a roadblock, a drive-by machine gun attack prompts the squad to give chase in their Humvees only to wind up being ambushed in a dead-end alley. Forced to engage in house-to-house fighting, the squad takes heavy casualties and inflicts unfortunate collateral damage as they pursue snipers through a labyrinth of dwellings.

Unfortunately for King, his anticipated discharge does not occur. King is informed by his commanding officer, Lt. Col. “Boot” Miller (Timothy Olyphant), that he must return to Iraq due to the “stop-loss” policy, which allows the military to involuntary extend a soldier’s enlistment if deemed necessary. According to the film, at least 81,000 soldiers have been subjected to this policy since Sept. 11, 2001.

King is outraged at what he terms a “back-door draft” and vows not to be forced back into service. King is completely disillusioned about the war and suffers massive guilt regarding what he perceives as lapses in his judgment that placed his men in harm’s way.

Trying to leapfrog the chain of command, King embarks on a cross-country trek to seek the help of a U.S. senator who pledged his support at the hometown welcome reception thrown in King’s honor. Along the way he encounters AWOL veterans hiding from the government and an underground railroad of sorts that establishes new identities for former servicemen in Canada.

The anti-war sentiments of director and screenwriter Kimberley Peirce are clearly evident in her telling of this story. Peirce, whose other directorial effort, the excellent “Boys Don’t Cry” for which Hilary Swank won the Oscar, presents the Iraq situation from the soldiers’ viewpoint very effectively. “Stop-Loss” does not offer an opinion on whether the U.S. should be in Iraq, but it clearly shows the dilemmas faced by our service men and women in the field and when they return home.

What perhaps sets Iraq apart from other long-term U.S. military engagements is the all volunteer aspect of the participants. The public outcry against Vietnam brought down President Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party in 1968 and remained a primary source of national discord throughout the Nixon administration. Of course, the indiscriminate nature of the Selective Service brought that conflict close to home for many American families.

Polls now indicate the war lags behind the economy and terrorism in the current presidential race. The conflict seems to have been neatly compartmentalized by many Americans and other than the ongoing cost, does not seem to be at the forefront of our national consciousness. Perhaps films like “Stop-Loss” will renew public interest in the war. However, given the poor box-office receipts in its first weekend of release, this movie, like the conflict itself, may soon be replaced by other distractions.

VAN NOVACK is the assistant vice president of institutional research and assessment at Cal State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife, Elizabeth.