Father Soldier Son
netflix
In the age of social media, we get to see more moments from people’s lives than ever before. The ones that are most seen are viral and when it comes to the military there is one that gets more views above all: a soldier returning home. This heartfelt moment capturing this military experience only has one problem, that’s all it is, a moment. It doesn’t show the soldier’s experience while they were away and it doesn’t show the reintegration back into home life.
Shot over a ten-year period by New York Times’ filmmaking division, directors and reporters Leslye Davis and Catrin Einhorn’s Father Soldier Son goes further than any YouTube compilation by following the life of Sgt. 1st Class Brian Eisch as he returns from Afghanistan to raise his two sons. The oldest, Isaac, is 12 when the film starts and the youngest, Joey, is 7. The return is a much-needed break filled with joy, but Brian admits that raising two sons as a single parent is more difficult than being a Sgt. 1st Class.
The film shows the sacrifice that one has to make when they decide to serve the country and weighs the effects that it has on those closest to them. The sacrifice is specific, it’s not a look at the Army’s weather forecaster, [WD2] Brian is in combat. On his second trip back home, he returns with a bullet wound in the leg. The injury puts Brian at risk of not being able to continue to serve in the military. As he returns from one battle abroad, another begins at home as the fight for recovery begins.
The brilliant direction of the film and progression of how the military life and the injury has affected Isaac and Joey can all be explained through the family’s trip to see American Sniper. For Brian it’s nostalgic. Throughout the scene he’s pointing out tanks and weapons to Joey with a grin on his face. Joey is having just as great of a time, he wants to be just like his Dad, a soldier in combat. Isaac is not as amused; for him, the film brings up memories of when his dad was first injured. Isaac doesn’t want to follow in his dad’s footsteps, although the eagerness to serve his community is still there in his desire to become a police officer.
While an Army family going to see the highest grossing movie of 2014 in the United States, which also happened to be a war film, may seem like an insignificant moment to most, Davis and Einhorn saw how much it spoke to the progression of the family and decided to put it in the film. It is this eye for the intimate that makes Father Soldier Son feel heartfelt and true, but never feel like an intrusion. There are many twists and turns in the story, but as the film wants you to know, that’s part of life.
The covid-19 pandemic may have delayed most of this year’s releases but many war films have been released. Da 5 Bloods and The Outpost may keep it from being the winner by default, but Father Soldier Son is in the conversation of the best war film of 2020 and is streaming on Netflix now.