The bookend to his 2009 “Brothers at War” is director Jake Rademacher’s new follow-up “Brothers After War” (co-produced by Gary Sinise). The documentary reconnects roughly a dozen veterans and examines how they’re adjusting to life as civilians.
“Brothers After War” bears a close resemblance to the superb live-action feature “My Dead Friend Zoe” (also released on Feb. 28). The film more than suggests that getting acclimated to civilian life after risking everything (while dodging bullets and bombs on the battlefield) can be immensely more difficult.
As with the 2009 film, the new one doesn’t take a pro or con position on the Iraq War. This is rare as all of the other 60-plus live-action movies about that war were highly critical of it and, in some cases, of the men and women wearing the boots on the ground.
The Rademacher Family
Another factor separating these two documentaries from the rest of the pack is that the two most profiled soldiers in both are the director’s brothers Isaac and Joe. In addition, Jake interviews well over a dozen members of the extended Rademacher family, which works out to be both a blessing and a curse.
In one of the most captivating scenes in the film, Joe and Jake meet with World War II historian Maj. Mike DiFabio, who specializes in battles that took place in Greece and Italy. This get-together is to find out where the brother’s paratrooper grandfather landed after his plane was shot down.
History Lesson Gone Awry
Things seem to be going well until Jake flips the narrative by comparing the grandfather’s joining with Italian rebels to 21st-century Iraq, while injecting politics into the mix. This catches DiFabio off guard and causes Joe to grow increasingly irate. Seconds later, Joe’s wife Danielle, who has been listening to the exchange in an adjacent room, enters the conversation. In no uncertain terms, she sternly calls Jake to task, leaving him speechless.Only moments before all of this went down, Jake interviewed Danielle, who Joe refers to as the family’s true hero. He asked her what was the most difficult aspect of raising children aged 3, 18 months, and 4 months during Joe’s long absences.
After a brief pause, she lets out a deep sigh and describes in measured detail the prospect of becoming a widow and having kids that never got to really know their father. Interviews with other stateside wives (including Isaac’s wife Jen) echo Danielle’s sentiments, leaving the viewer with the overwhelming feeling that some of the greatest sacrifices take place thousands of miles from the battlefields.
Throughout the film, particularly in the second half, Jake navigates a narrow and delicate balance beam between instances of crushing tragedy and hopeful uplift. The back and forth makes for an emotional roller coaster.
Was It Worth it?
Perhaps the most piercing point the movie drives home is the collective opinion of all of the interviewees that the investment of time, blood, and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan changed next to nothing. Terms like “nation building,” “forced democracy,” and “rejected Western culture” are uttered by the soldiers and their families, and it becomes easy to understand why all involved feel let down and unappreciated.It’s impossible for anyone who is not a veteran or a veteran family member to fully comprehend just how taxing living through wartime is, and that is ultimately Jake’s mission here. This is a throbbing raw nerve of a movie that pulls no punches and contains no easy answers.
