I'm Pat Fucking Tillman

// By Jonathan Jackson //

Three days into the 'rebellion,' the same trend is emerging as last year: documentaries rule at Sundance. Not necessarily an indictment of the fiction films unfurling, it is more a sign of how the documentary form has grown in the last few years as the best technology has become more accessible and more artists are choosing the documetary form over fiction.

From the entertaining, fly-on-the-wall view of a social networking nightmare in "Catfish," to the poetic and heartfelt stories of love from 70 different women found in "His and Hers," to the more investigative, interview orientated "The Pat Tillman Story" it has become clear that the only thing that eclipses the range of documentaries styles on display are the depth of emotions and insights found within them.

More on "Catfish" and "His and Hers" some other time, but for now I can't stop thinking about "I'm with Pat Tillman." I have seen plenty of films and read plenty of analysis that has made me sick about the actions of our elected officials and military leaders during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I am not sure that any of them have hit me on a personal level quite the way this film did.

What makes "I'm with Pat Tillman" great though, is not the staggering revelations of improper actions by our leaders, or the virtuoso filmmaking for that matter, it is the incredible portrait of an honest family and their fallen son who only ever had two wishes: that they know the truth of the circumstances surrounding their son's death and that the government respects his wishes.

The Tillman family was lied to, manipulated and used as a marketing tool during the aftermath of Pat's death and their search for answers. Pat's documented wishes for his funeral and privacy we're betrayed.

To this day the officials responsible have still not been held accountable.

Pat Tillman and his family come across as some of the most real Americans I have ever encountered. The Tillman parents raised their boys to be open, honest and human. To navigate the World through their own eyes, their family's eyes and their country's eyes. It is simply a tragedy that the American government and military ran over them and betrayed them.

Prior to its premiere at Sundance, "The Pat Tillman Story" was actually titled "I'm Pat Fucking Tillman." The director Amir Bar-Lev changed the title, likely for obvious reasons.

The original title comes from the moments just before Tillman's death. As friendly fire rained down on Pat Tillman from only 40 yards away, in desperation he shouted to the American soldiers firing at him:

"I'm Pat fucking Tillman! Why are your shooting at Me?"

"I'm Pat fucking Tillman!"