The Ground Truth
Focus Features | Release Date: September 15, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The documentary any American with an opinion on our involvement in Iraq owes it to his or her conscience to see. Read full review
100
PremiereSara Brady
This film, a raw howl of outrage and pain, is proudly one-sided, allowing a generation of wounded men and women to scream their betrayal. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
Foulkrod's film is not about taking a political side, though it is clear she is strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Her focus instead is on the dehumanizing of eager young men and their transformation into killing machines. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
Wrenching new documentary about returning veterans, may not single-handedly reverse the trend of ignoring Iraq docs in theatrical release, but it should. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Corliss
Both horrifying and hopeful. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Anyone who claims to support the troops owes it to them to see the film and hear their stories. Read full review
80
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Far from being a mere polemic, The Ground Truth is bolstered immeasurably by Foulkrod’s almost exclusive use of interviews with actual veterans. Read full review
80
VarietyJohn Anderson
The substance of the movie is potent, and so powerfully presented by those who have fought and are still fighting a controversial war, that the message of Ground Truth cannot be dismissed. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
It's become a critical cliche to say that everyone in the U.S. should see a particular war documentary, but even the most selfish citizen might want to check out The Ground Truth, because unlike the Iraqi victims of the war, the American ones are all around us. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Mostly a string of talking-head interviews, but those talking heads -- more than 16 men and women -- are compelling. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
This thoughtful, sensitive film, perhaps the most emotionally wrenching of all the Iraq documentaries, could have been made after any war. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
Compelling and intensely provocative. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Foulkrod's film covers little new ground, but some painful truths are worth repeating. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Powerfully documents the human cost of the Iraq war. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Immensely moving. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Tries to do too much in too little time. It would be a stronger film if it devoted more detailed attention to the plight of the returning veteran. As it stands, it is a scattershot antiwar polemic that doesn't bolster its arguments with any historical perspective or statistical evidence. No one from the government or the military is trotted out to give an opposing view. This is not to say that The Ground Truth, on its own terms, isn't devastating. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Foulkrod's film instead airs some of the hard-won truths learned by American soldiers from experience. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
Ends up feeling familiar. Read full review
60
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The Ground Truth is an emotionally potent work, but the great study of an Iraq vet, in either documentary or fictional form, has yet to be made. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
The details are eye-opening (or ear-opening, in the case of marching songs taught to the new Marines about slaughtering Arab schoolchildren), but soon Foulkrod's film backs itself into a Support Our Troops corner. Read full review
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