film about then-25-year-old Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris , his wife -LRB- and high school sweetheart -RRB- Ashley and the personal cost of war . It is also an astonishing technical achievement in war journalism and documentary filmmaking that may very possibly change the way conflicts are reported forever . Dennis designed and built a customized Steadicam rig -LRB- a device that enables a filmmaker to move over an uneven surface without the camera bouncing up and down -RRB- , allowing him to shoot footage that looks `` Hollywood , '' but was shot with a `` prosumer '' Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR : Basically a still camera that shoots HD video . Along with a customized sound rig , Dennis was able to shoot intimate war footage that until now has been impossible . The combat footage is , however , only part of the story . Six months into his third tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan , and just days from rotating out , Harris -LRB- Echo Company , 2nd Battalion , 8th Marine Regiment -RRB- is gravely wounded during a Taliban ambush . His hip and leg are broken , and blood transfusions and
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Since 2001 , there have been many excellent , award-winning and ground-breaking films , both narrative and documentary , about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . `` The Hurt Locker , '' `` Taxi to the Dark Side , '' `` Control Room , '' `` Occupation : Dreamland , '' `` Gunner Palace , '' `` Why We Fight , '' `` Body of War , '' `` Ghosts of Abu Ghraib , '' `` No End in Sight , '' `` Restrepo , '' `` The Prisoner : Or How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair , '' `` Stop-Loss '' and so on . All of these films have their place . Many are exceptional , moving and award-winning pieces of work , but of those that I have seen , none pack the visceral , emotional and artistic wallop that Danfung Dennis ' documentary `` Hell and Back Again '' delivers , and all without any politics whatsoever . There 's nothing , not one word of whether the United States should be fighting these wars , why we 're there or who 's to blame . This is an intimate