A scene from 'Brothers at War,' in which a civilian follows his two brothers, members of the 82nd Airborne Division, into the combat zones of Iraq.

Being a sniper’s an extremely challenging job, both physically and even just the decision you have to make to pull the trigger.

Brothers at War is a new feature documentary film in which a civilian follows his two brothers, members of the 82nd Airborne Division, into the combat zones of Iraq. In June 2009 it will be shown in theaters at military bases around the United States and will be available on DVD in July.

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Director/producer Jake Rademacher and executive producer Gary Sinise sat down with ArmchairGeneral.com to express their views on how the film may impact the American public’s perception of the war and the U. S. and Iraqi soldiers fighting it.

ArmchairGeneral.com: The personal, close-up coverage of a current and controversial conflict is a unique feature of this film. What aspects of the project led you to see something special in it?

Gary Sinise: I spent a lot of time on military bases and I’ve been to war zones many times, trying to do as much as I can to support the troops and I do it because one, I just believe when you’re at war, you have to back up your defenders. But two, I’ve met so many extraordinary people and see so many dedicated folks, serving our country that, when I saw this film, it visualizes what I see very well. It’s a great story about a brother’s love for his two brothers serving in the military and these two guys and the men and women who are seen in this film are the people that I see on these trips. I wanted to back this film in hopes that my involvement in it might bring some attention to it because more people can see a little inside look from a very personal point of view of who our military service members are and what they’re doing in this war zone.

ACG: The Rademacher family is often in the spotlight in this film. Will their real-life performances give a good idea of what most military families go through?

GS: I think many military families will relate to what the Rademachers go through (such as) difficult deployments. There’s pride that the family has for the two sons that are serving. There’s a great love of this brother, Jake Rademacher, who wants to find out a little more about his brothers, why they’re serving, what they’re doing over there. And so he puts himself at risk and goes over to Iraq with a camera crew and tries to find out. And I think it’s a very well put together documentary. It has humor and it’s moving and there’s action in the movie, you fall in love with the characters, it’s really a compelling story and a very important movie.

ACG: Your brothers and family put their emotions on the line for your film. How did making this movie ultimately affect them?

Jake Rademacher: When the film started there was, obviously, a great love for my brothers serving overseas. But there’s also a little bit of a distance, that the magnitude of the experiences that they had gone through, and our willingness but inability to connect with that through the thirty second clips we were seeing on the news of the war created a distance between all of us. The film’s really allowed all of us to come back together and reconnect. I’m proud of my family to being willing to put their inner thoughts and emotions on camera like they did. They’re not necessarily very sharing (about these things). It was not until they saw a trailer from Isaac’s departure and the first thirty hours of the footage that I shot that my mom and dad and Jenny and Danelle saw what I was trying to do and what was possible and then they committed to go on the journey with me and open up their personal lives to the audience.

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