X
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • International Film Circuit
  • 1 h 32 m
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • International Film Circuit
  • 1 h 32 m

Summary From a snowy small town in Northern Michigan to the mountains of Afghanistan and back, Where Soldiers Come From follows the four-year journey of childhood friends, forever changed by a faraway war. A documentary about growing up, Where Soldiers Come From, is an intimate look at the young men who fight our wars and the families and town ...

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • International Film Circuit
  • 1 h 32 m
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • International Film Circuit
  • 1 h 32 m

Where Soldiers Come From

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 8 Critic Reviews
58
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary From a snowy small town in Northern Michigan to the mountains of Afghanistan and back, Where Soldiers Come From follows the four-year journey of childhood friends, forever changed by a faraway war. A documentary about growing up, Where Soldiers Come From, is an intimate look at the young men who fight our wars and the families and town ...

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 8 Critic Reviews
58
38% Positive
3 Reviews
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 8 Critic Reviews
58
38% Positive
3 Reviews
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
80
Sep 5, 2011
Covering their lives with intimate access from before boot camp to the difficult return home, Heather Courtney's documentary packs a savage but understated punch.
FULL REVIEW
70
Sep 8, 2011
Where Soldiers Come From is, more than anything, a commentary on class. In its compassionate, modest gaze, the real cost of distant political decisions is softly illuminated, as well as the shame of a country with little to offer its less fortunate young people than a ticket to a battlefield.
By Jeannette Catsoulis FULL REVIEW
70
Sep 6, 2011
Much of what's presented is familiar territory, but it's the moments that fracture prejudices and expectations that stick with you.
By Ernest Hardy FULL REVIEW
60
Sep 6, 2011
It's only during the last third that the film finds its footing, as the PTSD fallout and collective sense of disillusionment suggest a bigger picture regarding why we fight, etc. Otherwise, this decent, if decidedly personal, look at small-town soldiers works better as an erratic scrapbook than a representative statement.
By David Fear FULL REVIEW
50
Oct 9, 2011
Despite the film's unvarnished emotionality and even-handed messaging, Courtney never seems to have found an appropriate focus, resulting in a work that's less urgent and involving than its intense subject matter might have dictated.
By Gary Goldstein FULL REVIEW
50
Sep 17, 2011
There's a good deal of honest emotion onscreen, particularly from the parents left behind to worry, yet the documentary sometimes feels like the work of a filmmaker who began with a preconceived story and wasn't quite sure what to do with the one she actually got.
By J.R. Jones FULL REVIEW
50
Sep 4, 2011
A four-year study of an Afghan war-bound group of friends (the mother of Cole, the goofy joker of the group, compares the boys to the characters in The Deer Hunter), Courtney's documentary is equal parts heartfelt and public-television predictable.
FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Release Date Sep 9, 2011
Duration 1 h 32 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Website http://www.wheresoldierscomefrom.com/
View All Details

Awards

Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Philadelphia Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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