"In The Valley of Elah" is full of a father's deep and repressed affection for his son. It touches the psychological trauma of war that is harder to heal than physical wounds. The film describes the indelible psychological sequelae of war and the lingering fear nightmare left by the war. There is no complicated narrative structure, and the single-threaded narration method is more powerful. The film does not directly hit the bloody reality of the battlefield. Instead, he focused the camera on the child-searching journey of an American veteran.
The plot itself is absurd and ironic enough. Compared with the passionate sentiment before, American society and people have begun to calm down and begin to rethink the war. The side effects of the war’s sequelae are beginning to appear gradually, and the so-called glory gained on the battlefield. Begin to be replaced by pain and confusion. The pain and scars may have to be swallowed silently by the soldiers and their families who have experienced the battlefield. Director Paul Edward Haggis used a calm lens to record a small microcosm of American society in the post-911 era. Nothing. Views and preaching, but the exploration of the topic of war is undoubtedly profound and keen. The shabby and upside down American flag fluttering in the wind at the end of the film expresses everything the director wants to express.
