Where Soldiers Come From
International Film Circuit | Release Date: September 9, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyAndrew BarkerSep 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. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisSep 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. Read full review
70
Village VoiceErnest HardySep 6, 2011
Much of what's presented is familiar territory, but it's the moments that fracture prejudices and expectations that stick with you. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 9, 2011
To see these children of waitresses, salon workers and fathers on disability burdened because they stepped up is humanizing and heartbreaking. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid FearSep 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. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinOct 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. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesSep 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. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineLauren WissotSep 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. Read full review
More From This Movie

58 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL