It often feels like every decade has its own subject that
is annually nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars.
This decade’s focus is the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Looking through the
records, I’m surprised to discover that only three have been nominated (with
one winning). Although this year the Iraq War as subject made its way into the
Documentary Short category so I guess that makes up some ground.
One of this year’s nominees in the feature category is Hell and Back Again about a veteran of
the Afghanistan War who suffered a bullet wound that shattered hip and his
femur. Now he gets around with a walker or wheelchair, goes to physical therapy
and probably suffers from some form of PTSD although the film is never really
explicit about any of it.
