War!
I got to borrow a copy the DVD "We Were Soldiers". I was riveted to the sofa for the whole course of the movie, I don't know what it was, but the film struck me in a profound way
perhaps it was just a well made movie. Mel Gibson was great, but then he always does a good job of playing extreme emotion and tense situations. I was surprised by Sam Elliot, especially since I've only ever really seen him in the "Big Lebowski", but I thought he did a great job as the crotchety old Sgt. Major. I especially liked that they showed the Vietnamese side of things, the bespectacled solider and his wife/girl friend really showed that the hordes of Vietnamese soldiers did in fact have families that mourned their deaths
just like ours.
War movies tend to impact me, whether or not their as good as this one or on the same level as "Saving Private Ryan". War is one of those things that have always captured my imagination, I like the tactics and strategy involved, but the real heart of it is getting inside the mind of those involved. For war to make sense you really have to suspend your normal thought processes and it's fascinating to see the mental acrobatics that people go through in combat situations. The trauma of emotion that is unleashed by combat is astounding and I really enjoy it when a film can portray that to the point of impacting the audience.