Filmmaker Peter McDowell tries to get to know about his brother Jimmy who died when he was five. Jimmy had fought in Vietnam and then stayed on afterward. He attempts to figure out who he was, how he died of a drug overdose and who was the family he sometimes stayed with.
This is the rare recent film where even I gave you more details as to the story you still wouldn't know everything that is contained in this film. I say this because while the film is very much a portrait of Jimmy, the film is also the story of a family finally dealing with a lost a generation before. As Peter says at one point, it has been 48 years since his brother had died, at what point was it going to stop being raw.
I was captivated and I was moved. To me the real power of the story is not Jimmy's tale, but the stories of the people around him. For example there is an incredibly moving moment when a woman whose brother was Jimmy's friend is given a picture of her mother and breaks down. She had been forced to burn all the photos when the Viet Cong took over Siagon. It speaks volumes about how we are connected to those we have lost.
This is a great little film. It's an unexpected delight and very recommended.
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