03/06/2019 - Florian Baron’s German-US documentary is an evocative and often painful examination of PTSD and the plight of those in the military who find it impossible to readjust to reality

“Once everything’s done and you’re not GI Joe any more, what do you do then?” asks one of the damaged protagonists at the heart of Florian Baron’s Stress [+see also:
trailer
film profile], an extension of his short film Joe Boots, which did the festival circuit in 2018. In following the stories of five military veterans from the USA, Stress, which screened recently at the Krakow Film Festival, examines the ravages of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attempts to find an answer to this complex question.

Each story is slightly different: one person has memories of being caught in an explosion, while another remembers the ever-increasing number of dead colleagues. But beneath the surface, their stories are all the same. After spending months in a warzone, being taught that everyone and everything could potentially kill you, how is it possible to even begin to adjust to something akin to “normality”?

Letting the veterans tell their own stories via voice-over, the film already has a tremendous amount of emotional power, but this is amplified by Johannes Waltermann’s often beautiful cinematography. Utilising tracking shots, slow motion and aerial photography, the movie has a constant sense of the dreamlike and the surreal, emphasising our protagonists’ feeling of dislocation from reality. Indeed, the first third of the picture doesn’t even reveal the faces of those we are following – any form of close connection is still difficult. Coupled with the strong sound design by Jana Irmert, Stress has echoes of the work of US documentarian Errol Morris, as some of the harsh realities of human existence are juxtaposed with an aesthetic that emphasises both isolation and beauty.

The film gives us a sense of the cycle of trauma – it begins with recollections of 9/11 and how the attacks caused some people to want to go and fight for the USA – which seems increasingly difficult to break out of. One trauma begets another.

The movie brings forth the depressing statistic that more US soldiers have killed themselves than have died in combat in Iraq – a fact that itself comes after a devastating revelation in the film’s narrative. And while it avoids any sort of real engagement with the ethics of military involvement (indeed, the final few moments contain a validation of the military lifestyle for the sense of direction and purpose it can offer), Stress makes it clear through the testimonies of the veterans that the aftercare for those suffering from PTSD in the USA is wholly inadequate. One spends his time wishing his legs or face had been blown off instead – in which case he’d be able to show something “real” that required treatment. The result is a damning indictment of the industrial military complex, not because of the kinds of wars it fights, but because of how it treats a large number of those involved in said wars. Yet Stress does offer some sort of hope and redemption, with our protagonists often finding salvation in their families and loved ones.

The German-US production was the recipient of the Next Masters Competition Prize at the 2018 edition of DOK Leipzig, where it had its world premiere. With Baron’s distinctive and moving style, alongside a powerful story, it should find a place on the documentary circuit over the year to come.

The film was produced by Machnitzky Filmproduktion with the support of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Kuratorium junger deutscher Film and the Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg. Its world sales are handled by New Docs.