Steve and I were supposed to see both this movie and Sweeney Todd tonight, but after seeing this movie I had to go home.
I haven't ever had any movie affect me this deeply except Crash, and the frustrating thing is, I can't explain why. After hearing my fathers stories about Vietnam.... it gave a perspective that I simply don't know how to share.
All I can say is, throughout the movie I was sucked in and I liked it, but I didn't think it would affect me like it did. The last 15 minutes had me in tears to the point where I was shivering, my teeth were chattering like it was minus 20 in the theatre, and I was making those involuntary cry noises that you make when you're trying really really really hard not to cry. I stayed sitting well into the credits just trying to compose myself, and ended up having to give up and just left the theatre still crying.
I saw my dad in the father, but I also saw him in the tiniest way in the son. For the first time I saw what sort of pain my dad must have been in when he was young and doing his three tours in Vietnam - the last two as the pilot for cargo planes flying bodies out. For the first time I could actually imagine my dads pain, not just catch the echo of it in his voice.
After all that said, I still can't describe how much this movie affected me. I wish I could.