58
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Village VoiceErnest HardyVillage VoiceErnest HardyMuch of what's presented is familiar territory, but it's the moments that fracture prejudices and expectations that stick with you.
- 70The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisWhere 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.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearIt'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.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierTo see these children of waitresses, salon workers and fathers on disability burdened because they stepped up is humanizing and heartbreaking.
- 50Slant MagazineSlant MagazineA 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.
- 50Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesChicago ReaderJ.R. JonesThere'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.
- 50Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDespite 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.