The Valley of Elah

The Valley of Elah


"The Valley of Elah" gives me hope that our storytellers are regaining their voice in Hollywood. This is a much needed story about the truths of the Iraq war - the truth about how it affects our young servicepeople. We do not prepare our children for the horrors of war, and yet we send them to fight without any psychological mentoring and counseling. This war has literally driven some of our soldiers crazy.

The title of this film is based on the Biblical story of David and Goliath. It is in the Valley of Elah that David volunteers to fight Goliath. The theme is that we send our children to fight, instead of going ourselves. King Saul gave David his own armour, but it was too big for him. And so he went 'naked' into the fight.

This is what we do with our children when we let our leaders create wars. It's time for the mothers and fathers of these soldiers to speak out,m and help us end this war.

Paul Haggis and Tommy Lee Jones spoke truth to power - just like David did by fighting a giant.