TORONTO 2009: Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein's HOW TO FOLD A FLAG

The latest film from Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein (GUNNER PALACE, THE PRISONER OR: HOW I PLANNED TO KILL TONY BLAIR, BULLETPROOF SALESMAN) debuted this weekend in Toronto and, as with their previous films, the subject is Iraq.  But in HOW TO FOLD A FLAG, Tucker and Epperlein close their Iraq series by returning to four of their subjects from GUNNER PALACE and chronicling the soldiers' return to civilian life.

From Scott Macaulay at Filmmaker:

"Any written summary of How to Fold a Flag must necessarily focus on these characters, four men who served in the same unit but whose various socio-economic and racial divisions separate them when they return home to America. But what starts off seeming like a traditional "vets returning home" documentary subtly morphs into a nuanced portrait of a country trying its best to emotionally distance itself from the reality of its foreign policy. Filmed in the months leading up to the election, the psychic temperature of this movie is far from the "Yes, we can!" moxie of those days. Indeed, Tucker's keen-eyed cinematography captures an anxious America, one wrapped in the language of patriotism but unsure of its future. How to Fold a Flag is a moving film that has as much to say about America's future as it does its recent past."

Macaulay interviews Tucker here.

Karina Longworth tweets that the film merits an A-.

Variety's Joe Leydon feels the film may not measure up to previous works, but says that FLAG continues Tucker and Epperlein's "sympathetic, insightful examination of individuals involved - as soldiers or civilians, willingly or otherwise - in the Iraq War":

"Pic does suggest that each of its subjects will survive, and maybe even thrive, as they continue to distance themselves from what they did, and what was done to them, in Iraq. But for some of them, full recovery is a distant, albeit attainable, goal."

The Hollywood Reporter notes that BULLETPROOF SALESMAN, which debuted at SXSW 2008, was picked up by First Run for a 2010 theatrical launch.

Blogger Jonathan on "Jonathan's Retirement Blog" calls FLAG "extraordinary".

Comments

[Andrew Los Gatos]

How can I get in touch with Michael Tucker?
I need to ask him about Burma (Myanmar) and his work there.