An American Soldier

Five years into the war in Iraq, with no mandatory draft to fill its depleting ranks, the United States Army is more dependent than ever on persuasive recruiters to lure young would-be soldiers to the front lines. Enter Sergeant First Class Clay Usie—one of the most successful Army recruiters in America today. Filmmaker Edet Belzberg travels to Usie’s hometown of Houma, Louisiana, to track his day-today life over a nine-month period. What emerges is a double-edged portrait of a man entirely dedicated to his mission. Usie succeeds because he believes in what he is doing, he genuinely cares about the young people in his charge, and he is a hell of a salesman.

Belzberg focuses on four of Usie’s new recruits. To these high-schoolers, Sergeant Usie is a true role model. He becomes their personal trainer, motivator, shrink, and surrogate father. After graduation, the recruits head off to basic training, where they transition to soldiers, awaiting deployment to Iraq. A new squad of innocents face their mortality.

Sundance veteran Belzberg (Children Underground) brings the unflinching immediacy of her vérité style to the phenomenon of military recruitment sweeping the nation. An American Soldier brilliantly defies partisanship, allowing audiences to draw their own conclusions. Uncle Sam wants you; An American Soldier shows us how much.