THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. is a look at the first World War in THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD.

It has been one hundred years since the end of World War I and with over 600 hours of footage, director Jackson along with the Imperial War Museum archives and the BBC tell a story that has never been experienced before.

In those archives are also the voices of men who lived through the war from 1914 to 1918 and share every detail of their military time. When it is realized that war is coming, it wasn’t just men in their twenties signing up. Boys as young as 15 were lying about their age to join and make their way to training and to war.

For some this was their first experience in the world let along a world at war. Their stories of coming together was a mixture of leaving home for the first time and not quite grasping what they were about to do.

Jackson takes the black and white footage and colorized it and within moments we are brought into their world. The film can be seen in 2D and 3D, I saw it in 3D and it is stunning. It is his hope that by telling a small fraction of a larger story of the war that viewers will see and hear for themselves what has not been before.

In the voices of the men unfolds their life once they became soldiers and that includes every detail of marching, eating, sleeping, friendships and the life of living day to day in the trenches. The German forces are on the other side of a field and in the middle is the constant barraging of bombs.

From the very beginning of the film it is clear that this is a documentary like nothing I had seen before. Every gambit of human emotion was happening on the screen but also the response of an audience who was totally invested in the experience. There were moments of gasping and moments of chuckling and in between moments of keeping emotions together.

Transforming 100 year old footage, Jackson and his team have brought together an incredible accounting of World War I. By colorizing the footage he has brought this piece of a larger story into such perspective that it is almost hard to believe that the film is only 90+ minutes. There isn’t a moment that didn’t hold the audience captive and not one person left their seat until the film was finished.

I have spent days thinking about this film because of everything that Jackson managed to put together. He was not shy about the personal life of the soldiers nor was he shy about death in war. Once again the emotions of the film bring a quiet theatre even quieter.

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD is an amazing documentary from beginning to end and what Jackson accomplished in four years is nothing short of stellar. Jackson also has an investment in the film as his own grandfather fought in the war and he did not receive compensation for the film. It is a documentary but I have not felt this moved by a documentary in quite a long time.

To see the young faces of the men who fought World War I in the way Jackson has presented them tugged at my heart. We have to remember that 100 years ago; these soldiers did not have the technology available today so when you wanted to get a message to someone else on the line, a soldier ran it. Tanks were experimental and crude at best and personal protection entrusting your life to the soldier next to you.

Surviving on rations and taking care of ones self was done through creativity and ingenuity that most of us today can’t even wrap our minds around. That is what this documentary does, helps us all wrap our minds around something that we’ve only read about in books. Now, that word has jumped from page to screen and given faces to it all.

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD is a must-see on ever level and I would even go so far as to say it is filled with teachable moments. Copies of the film are already in schools in the UK. As Jackson states in the beginning, this is only a small piece of a large war and it is my hope that he continues with this work and brings more to audiences. I would be the first to watch a series of this work!

This is a telling, visually confronting and soul searching film and worth every moment in the theatre to see and experience.

In the end – this is the true experience of being a soldier.

Miles Teller Stars as a Troubled Soldier Returning Home in THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

Jeri Jacquin

This week in theaters is the film THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE based on the award winning book Thank You For Your Service written by David Finkel. Telling the story of soldiers returning home and their difficulty in readjusting to civilian life and family, this film centers on the life of one such soldier, Adam Schumann.

Schumann returns home to discover that fitting back into a life he once knew isn’t happening. Trying to do what’s best, he keeps what happened in Iraq to himself only discussing it with other soldiers in his infantry. It becomes clear that they too are having a difficult time finding their place in life.

When one of their friends chooses a different way to handle it all, it becomes clear to his wife that Schumann needs help. They turn to the VA and learn that getting that help is frustrating and a system that is overloaded with bureaucracy. Schumann tries to come to terms with an event that happened in Iraq while also continuing to help his men also find help.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE is a startling look at the soldiers who return home to a broken system and showing how PTSD is shows itself in different ways and can not be labeled quite so easily.

Actor Miles Teller portrays Adam Schumann in THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. This is the second week that Teller is portraying a person who serves our country. Last week he took the role of Brendan McDonough, the only survivor of the Granite Mountain Hotshots in the film ONLY THE BRAVE.  

I had the opportunity to speak with Miles about his role as Adam Schumann and portraying this real life soldier on the issues of PTSD and bringing light to such an important issues for all U.S. military.

Jeri Jacquin: Thank you for talking with me today Miles, I appreciate it and I know you must be busy.

Miles Teller: I am busy but I have to say I’m enjoying it.

JJ: That’s good to hear. What drew you to THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE?

MT: I have always had a lot of respect for the military and I felt like Adam’s story was extremely powerful so I wanted to help tell it. I felt a responsibility actually.

JJ: I spoke with Adam, what an amazing young man.

MT: Adam is an incredible person.

JJ: When you read the script, is there anything that jumped out at you the most?

MT: I think just the struggle is what I find actually incredible. We don’t have any integration programs for our soldiers who are in war one day and the next week are home making pancakes for their family as in the case of Adam. It is something that he’s not able to talk to his wife about and that’s extremely difficult.

JJ: It’s a story of the struggle to go from one extreme to the other so quickly.

MT: Yes, it is incomprehensible to us as civilians but I felt by doing this film I was able to empathize and appreciate in such a way that I am grateful for. It helps you understand the struggle these soldiers are going through. Millions of soldiers are dealing with PTSD and it’s tough.

JJ: It’s a big issues and a difficult one as well. How did you prepare to play that role?

MT: I read some books and I watched a lot of interviews and documentaries. I was able to spend some time with Adam and other veterans as well. They put us through a boot camp as well and through all of these resources I was able to come up with this portrayal.

JJ: When you first began filming, was it hard to find your step when it comes to the scenes dealing with PTSD?

MT: Absolutely, every day on this film I was nervous about messing it up. I know how heavily this film and this performance was going to be scrutinized because I am representing our military. I was representing a staff Sgt. in the Army and I am aware of how much they sacrifice to have that job title. I was extremely nervous. Everyday on set I was telling myself ‘I hope I don’t mess this up’.

JJ: You probably had a lot of military eyes watching what you were doing.

MT: Our cast was really strong in this and the fact that we all went through a boot camp helped us with the sense of responsibility we all felt. This is a real life responsibility to the men and women we were portraying and I think everyone wanted to get it right. We had a lot of people steering us in that direction.

JJ: Speaking of boot camp how did you like that?

MT: It was tough and a kick in the guts but I think we were all grateful for it to be honest with you. When we were doing it, it sucked and it was really uncomfortable and tough to do but once we got done it was good. It was team work oriented and if you are making a film like this it is a feeling that we are all in it together and it’s not about just one person. We got to experience that in the boot camp and we all benefited from it.

JJ: They must have put you all through the ringer.

MT: It was a very intensive boot camp for sure.

JJ: During that time did you feel like there was a sense of coming together?

MT: Absolutely, I don’t think anything bonds people like collective suffering.

JJ: The film bounces between what happens in Iraq to what happens at home. The scenes in Iraq are very intense, how was that for you to deal with?

MT: I think we were actually excited at that point because we had been trained tactically and trained to move as a unit. We learned to shoot M-4’s and wear the gear that came along with an objective and a mission. When you are a kid you play cops n’ robbers or soldiers, you know, make believe, but this is that at its highest level. Of course I’m not glorifying that because the difference is that what the soldiers did was very real and in filming the scenes we got to go home at the end of the day.

JJ: I understand what you are saying. You are all portraying an event that is very intense and you have to use that build up of the training in boot camp in order to do the scene justice.

MT: Yes, exactly. What was specific about this is that it’s not a lot of taking shots at the enemy, it was a 360 warfare. It wasn’t just about waiting to be shot at but driving around in humvees not knowing what could be on the road. They are going out multiple times a day every day and still not knowing what could be on that road.

JJ: I was talking to Adam about the phrase ‘thank you for your service’, what does that mean for you?

MT: It’s just something that has become part of the national lexicon when meeting somebody who is in the armed services. I’m interested in it and it’s something that people say who don’t have the full understanding of the soldier’s experience. These guys don’t want to be thanked. Adam didn’t do what he did to be thanked or congratulated by civilians. He was doing his job. It’s also the end of a conversation where civilians distance themselves from soldiers. It’s thanking them without actually getting into a deep conversation with a soldier. I think that’s unfortunate. I think the divide between soldier and civilian is wider than it has ever been. I’m hoping this film shortens the divide and brings the us all together making us all part of it under the flag.

JJ: Instead of ‘thank you for your service’ we can change it to ‘how are you doing?’ to really bring out a conversation.

MT: Yes, that’s great. I guy shook Adam’s hand and said ‘welcome home’ which turned out to be the most powerful thing anyone had said to him. He said he broke down in tears after that.

JJ: This is such an intense film in the sense that it’s about both physical and emotional pain of reaching out for help, when viewers leave the theatre, what do you hope they take with them Miles?

MT: I hope that the film creates some empathy and I hope it creates a discussion. I think in our country these soldiers are the biggest group that need help. These soldiers are suffering and it’s so much more than PTSD. It’s not like previous soldiers who came home and just didn’t talk about it. I hope this film can be informative, enlightening and humanizes what our soldiers are dealing with. I hope there are a whole range of emotions that bring about discussion of what they are going through. We need to close that gap between civilian and veteran most definitely.

JJ: I want you to know I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me Miles. This is a tough subject to bring to film and thank you for taking on the role.

MT: Thank you Jeri, these are the kind of stories I want to tell and I’m glad that it’s getting to see the light of day.

Miles Teller has taken the role of Adam Schumann and given is every range of emotion possible. Some are subtle and most are heart breaking and it is for the viewer to come away realizing that our military need us just as much as we need them.

Embracing this story is just the beginning as more films about our military and their struggles come to the forefront. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE is one such telling of a young man who wanted to stay strong for his platoon and the men he felt responsible for while also finding the life he left behind.

Coming to theatres is THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE and DreamWorks along with Universal Pictures and AMC are making tickets available for service members. For more information on how the tickets will be made available, please visit www.ThankYouForYourService.com.