Wartorn: 1861-2010

Uniformly excellent - although some additional reporting devoted to the treatment of PTSD would have made this a more complete package.

The filmmakers do not beat a political drum, they do not use an impassioned script or a soundtrack comprising brass and strings; they do not attempt to incite anger or outrage, sorrow or resolve in any way. Instead, they present the facts, simply and gracefully, and the result is devastating.

On Veterans Day, Wartorn is a somber reminder of the price that many pay when they serve their country and a wake-up call to the rest of us about the debt we owe them.

This is not an angry documentary; it's just such a downer--and necessary medicine for those who've remained personally unaffected by events of the last decade.

Wartorn sometimes starts to feel prim and preachy. But it also has its share of quietly devastating, haunting scenes, echoes of the nightmares that veterans are bringing home with them from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Wartorn is convincing on a number of levels.

James Gandolfini lends his celebrity to the project, which would have benefited from either greater focus or more time, but nevertheless delivers a sobering message regarding the psychological wounds war inflicts even on survivors.